The DSM?
by VioletDawn00
Summary: Years ago, Lord Death made a decision that would forever impact not only his life, but his son's as well... The child whimpered, scared. "Don't worry, you're safe now." He offered his hand and it took a few seconds before the young girl grabbed a hold of it, her hand miniscule in Death's large one. "You'll be safe from now on. I'll make sure of it." KidXoc
1. Prologue

**The DSM?**

Prologue

Lord Death stood facing his mirror with his back to Sid, contemplating the recent events.

"Sir?" Sid spoke up.

"Hmm?" Lord Death turned around to face the zombie teacher.

"What do you want us to do now that the kishin has been revived?"

Death stood silent only for a moment before responding with the obvious answer Sid had been waiting for.

"Send word to all the death scythes and tell them to assemble here in Death City."

"Of course." said Sid as he turned to leave the death room.

Just before he left, Sid thought of one more thing.

"Do you want me to also send word to the DSM to come here as well?"

Death turned to face his mirror again, his light voice became laced with worry and, oddly, a sort of grief.

"Yes. We will need every asset we've got."

"Okay." Sid said briefly before leaving the room.

"I just hope it is the right decision." he whispered to himself.

The problem with that was that he wasn't really alone.

Author's Note:**Ok so I know I didn't describe the characters but if you are reading this then I think it is safe to assume you have seen the series before and know what they look like. Also, this is my first story so please no flames or degrading comments because if you hate it that much you shouldn't even be reading it. Constructive criticism and reviews are greatly appreciated. Hope you like it. **


	2. 1: The Mystery Begins

**The DSM?**

Chapter 1

Blackstar quietly snuck out of the death room slightly confused about the exchange between Sid and Death and Death's odd reaction to the results. So he decided to go and consult with his friends.

….

Blackstar, Tsubaki, Soul, Maka, Kid, Patty, and Liz were all gathered in the living room of Soul and Maka's apartment.

"Blackstar, since when are you allowed to call meetings in me and Soul's apartment?" Maka exclaimed angrily while sitting in the armchair by the window.

"Relax Maka, I'm sure he has a good reason." Said Tsubaki from her spot between the Thompson sisters on the large sofa.

Patty sat on her left side, closest to Kid and Soul on the smaller couch. While Liz sat on her right side, closest to the not too happy Maka.

"Yeah it better be a damn good reason to stop me in the middle of painting my nails!" Liz said in a silent but deadly tone of voice.

"Everyone calm down! I, the great Blackstar have brought you all here to discuss some intriguing information I have come across with the use of my amazing assassin skills! Lord Death has ordered that ALL the death scythes are to assemble here in Death City and…."

All of a sudden Blackstar was face down on the rug clutching the back of his head. Patty started giggling hysterically while everyone else just watched the scene unfold.

"You just came to tell us that!" yelled Maka still clutching the book she used to hit Blackstar.

Just then Soul leaned over to Kid and whispered,

"She never fails to have a book at hand when someone makes her angry."

"I see." Kid whispered back.

Then Maka turned her glare to the two boys making them flinch into the sofa.

"I don't think Blackstar was finished with the information he was telling us Maka." Tsubaki said gently so as to not turn Maka's rage on herself.

"Yeah, knowing Blackstar, he was probably saving the actually important stuff for last to make it seem more like breaking new than it would if he just blurted it out. You know, like building the suspense." Liz added while examining her nails in a rather bored fashion.

By now, Blackstar had gotten up off of the rug and was rubbing his head.

"It's okay everybody. I'm good. Nothing's broken."

"Nothing except your pride." Patty managed out between giggles.

Blackstar ignored it though and continued on with his speech.

"Anyway, as I was saying. Lord Death ordered all of the death scythes to assemble in Death City. Then just as Sid was about to leave he turned back and asked Death if he wanted him to send word to someone he called the DSM as well. Then Death sounded kind of upset when he responded with, "Yes. We will need every asset we've got." And with that Sid left the room and Death whispered out loud, "I just hope I made the right decision."

By the time he was done everyone was silent. Even Maka had come out of her state of rage and Patty had stopped her hysterical laughter. Everyone was silent for a couple minutes while they thought about what Blackstar had said until Soul broke the silence.

"So, who's this DSM person?"

"I have no idea." Said Blackstar, "That's why I wanted to tell you guys about it. To see if you knew."

"How do we even know it's a person?" Liz asked.

"Yeah. Didn't you say Sid said the DSM?" added Tsubaki.

"It sounds more like some kind of organization." Said Maka calmly.

"What about you Kid?" Patty asked, turning to said boy who had been strangely quiet.

"I have no idea. My dad never told me of anyone or anything referred to as the DSM. Although it sounds familiar. Like I've heard it somewhere before."

"Oh well! I'm sure we will hear something about it tomorrow at school!" Patty said cheerfully. "Oh! Maka, I heard Chrona will be coming to the academy to be a student. Is that true?"

"Yeah. He starts tomorrow. I'm not sure how he will take it though. He still isn't really used to people actually being nice to him."

"He will get used to it. It's nice to see him free of Medusa's control. I have a feeling it won't be long until he will feel welcome here." Tsubaki smiled.

"Yeah but only if he is ok with living in my shadow. It's impossible to outshine THIS star!" Blackstar exclaimed while pointing his thumb to the middle of his chest.

The group continued to talk until everyone had to leave to go to their own homes to sleep before going to the academy in the morning sure that they would hear something of this mysterious DSM that seemed important to the cause against the kishin.

…

At the DWMA the next day the students were all wandering the halls waiting for classes to start. Kid, Liz, Patty, Blackstar, and Tsubaki were standing beside the wall of assignments talking when Soul walked up to them.

"Do you really think that there will be an announcement about the DSM today?"

"I'm not sure." Tsubaki answered. "But it's not like Lord Death and Sid will be able to hide the fact that the death scythes come so I would think that they would mention whatever this DSM is also."

"Hey, where's Maka?" asked Liz.

"Oh she's showing Chrona around the school. It got so bad at one time I think I saw her having to push him across the courtyard while he was crouched down hugging his knees."

"Wow. That's almost as bad as Kid with things that are asymmetrical."

"Hey!" Kid said defensively, "That's not the same thing!"

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah!"

"Chrona sees people and hides while freaking out mentally. You see something asymmetrical and actually freak out." Liz shot back.

Just then an announcement came on.

"Students of the DWMA, as you know, the kishin has been revived. We just wanted to inform you that, as a result, the death scythes will be gathering here in the city and staying at the academy. Also, in your classes you will be informed of the precautions you are expected to take to protect you from the madness wavelengths."

"Is that it?" asked Patty to no one in particular. "Nothing about the DSM?"

"Oh. One more thing students."

The group of meisters and weapons stood waiting to hear information on the still mysterious DSM.

"Death the Kid is to report to the death room. Have a nice day students."

"I wonder what that's about." Said Soul.

"Only one way to find out." Said Kid as he started to walk away. "I will see you all in class."

Kid walked down the hall quietly as he made his way to his father's room. When he finally reached the door, he opened it without knocking and started the walk down the long hallway made of guillotines that led to the actual death room itself. The hallway was fairly long and it gave Kid time to contemplate about where he could have heard the acronym DSM from before. He was almost certain that the M stood for meister or possibly meisters in the case of an organization but he just couldn't place the D or S no matter how hard he tried. Kid entered the death room still pondering what DSM meant.

"Hiya Kid! How ya doing son?" Death greeted him cheerfully.

"I'm fine. How are you today dad?"

"I'm good. I take it you heard of the gathering of the death scythes?"

"Yes I did."

"That;s good. Anyway, I just received word that we are getting a new student tomorrow. I would like you to show her around seeing as I will be busy in a meeting with the two death scythes who will be arriving later tonight."

"So… is this like a representing the family thing?"

"Sorta." Death responded curtly.

"Okay. I'll do it."

"Good! She will be here at the beginning of the school day. You will both be excused from the day's classes so take your time."

"Is that all father?"

"Yes. You may go to class now Kid."

Kid began walking back down the hallway, hands casually in his pockets, when his dad told him one more thing.

"Try and make a good impression Kid. It's important she feels as welcome as possible."

Kid just nodded and walked out of the room to go to class.

Author's Note:** So there's the first chapter. I know it's still a little slow but as any other writer knows, you need to establish the setting and characters bonds etc, etc, etc. So, yeah, just let me know what you think. Just things like what you liked, didn't like, and areas for improvement. The story will start to pull away from the series plotline. Speaking of the series I believe the following is due:**

**DISCLAIMER: _I do not own soul eater (obviously) or any of the characters. I only own my specific plotline and my made up character who will be introduced in the next chapter._**

_**What do you think DSM stands for?**_

_Reviews are appreciated! _


	3. 2: New Girl

**The DSM?**

Chapter 2: New Girl

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Soul Eater kay? If I did I would be sitting in an office, planning another series of the anime. Not on my shitty home computer typing up fanfiction in my pj's at ten at night. However, I DO own my plotline and Dawn and the DSM idea. So I better not catch anybody taking it.**_

Death the Kid stood outside the DWMA patiently waiting for this 'new girl' to arrive so he could take her on the tour of the academy. Ten minutes after classes had started, a young girl he hadn't seen before walked up the steps and gazed around the school, not seeming to notice him. The first thing he noticed were her bangs. Golden blond and swept from one side right to the other. Incredibly asymmetrical. Although his attention was drawn away from her bangs to her perfectly symmetrical facial features that included wide, purple eyes. She also had a golden blond, waist length braid that was held together near the bottom by a red band with black trim. The girl was tanned and was wearing a blank tank top and black and white striped arm sleeves. Also, she had blue shorts and high black boots. Lastly, around her neck was a blacker choker with a small white charm that, upon closer inspection, was Lord Death's mask. The longer Kid looked at her, the more he felt as if he did indeed know her from somewhere. He kept watching her, trying to figure out where he had seen her before when he became aware that his gaze was being returned. She just stood there watching as he watched her with a blank expression until she snapped out of it and a wide smile spread across her face as she held out her hand to him.

"Hey! My name's Dawn. What's yours?"

"Hi. My name is Death the Kid. Welcome to the DWMA." Kid said while taking hold of her hand and shaking it.

"So you're Death's son?"

"Yes. I'm here to take you on a tour of the school."

"Sweet. Lead the way then!" Dawn said before giggling excitedly.

Kid nodded before turning, putting his hands casually in his pockets and walking towards the doors into the academy.

"Right this way Miss Dawn."

He started walking towards the entrance when he realized he couldn't hear footsteps behind him. In fact, if he listened really closely he could hear quiet, soft chuckling coming from the girl behind him. Turning his head over his shoulder, Kid saw Dawn standing behind him, arms crossed over her chest, lips curved up in a crooked smile, head shaking from side to side ever so slightly, and shoulders rising and falling in silent laughter. All the while her eyes remained locked on his face.

"Excuse me. Did I miss something?"

"Please," she said, laughter coming through as she spoke, "there is no need for formalities. It's just Dawn. None of this 'Miss' business."

"Well in that case, please just call me Kid, Dawn."

"Sure thing Kid. Happy to oblige." Dawn said as she removed her arms from being across her chest.

"Now we should get on with the tour. We have a lot of ground to cover."

"Alright let's go then."

Dawn started walking towards Kid with a skip in her step and that same crooked smile seemingly plastered on her face for good. As Death the Kid turned and led her into the academy he couldn't keep a smile off his own face. It seemed her smile and overall giggly happiness was infectious. The way she was so optimistic and giggly almost reminded him of Patty but Dawn seemed less hysterical and more, well, sane to be honest. Yet, since the moment he actually looked at her closely, he couldn't shake the feeling that he had seen her somewhere before. Soon, Kid was deep in thought attempting to remember where he saw her before. Kid was woken from his deep thoughts by a tanned hand that was being waved in front of his face. Soon it was accompanied by a voice.

"Hey. Uh, Kid? You ok? You just kind of randomly stopped walking there."

"Oh. Yeah I'm fine."

"You sure?"

Dawn's worried face appeared once she stopped waving her hand in front of his face. By the look of it, she wasn't very convinced.

"Yes. I was just thinking."

"Ok. If you say so. You still gonna show me around?"

Kid was relieved when she didn't press any further. Dawn tilted her head to the side questioningly when she asked .

"Yes, of course."

"Great!" Dawn said cheerfully.

Kid and Dawn walked through the school and Kid pointed out all of the important rooms. The ones she would go to on a daily basis, the rooms that were off limits to one star meisters (as he figured out that she was indeed a meister) and other areas such as the library and, lastly, the rooftop balcony.

"Woah. You can see all of Death City from here!"

Kid couldn't help but chuckle at how excitable she was.

"Indeed, you can."

Dawn sighed contently as the breeze blew through her hair.

"This place is amazing." She said to Kid who had joined her at the edge.

Kid just smiled and nodded. They stood there for a while enjoying their day off from classes in silence when they heard someone yelling down by the entrance to the school. They both exchanged confused glances before peering downward trying to get a good look at what was going on. Both Kid and Dawn strained to hear something other than the yelling before finally being able to pick up part of a sentence.

"I know you know something about the…"

Dawn stood there puzzled.

"What is that about?"

"Well that was Blackstar."

"Black-who?"

"Blackstar. A friend of mine. He's probably going off on somebody for something he suspects they did." Kid sounded exasperated.

Dawn caught the tone in his voice indicating he wasn't saying everything.

"And?"

"And whoever it is he's yelling at probably didn't do anything wrong. Blackstar can get paranoid sometimes."

"I see."

"I'd better go see what it's about this time." Kid sighed.

"I'll come with you."

"Ok. Come on. Let's go."

They headed quickly down the stairs and narrowly missed running into Sid.

"Hey you two. Going to see Blackstar? He's been yelling at some poor guy about something."

"Yes. We heard it from the roof." Kid responded.

"Well have fun trying to calm him down. Tsubaki isn't having much luck herself."

"Tsubaki is Blackstar's weapon partner." Kid explained to a slightly confused Dawn.

"Oh yes." Sid exclaimed. "You must be the new student."

"Dawn." She said while sticking out her hand.

"Sid. I'm a teacher here." He said while shaking her hand.

"Nice to meet you Sid."

"You as well, Dawn."

Dawn and Kid then continued on their way. Dawn followed Kid because she still didn't quite have the layout of the academy memorized. The two ran out of the academy doors and stopped when they saw what was going on.

"I'm guessing the guy with the blue hair and star mark on his shoulder is Blackstar." Dawn said cautiously to Kid.

"Yes he is."

"Any idea who the other guy is?"

"No. Lots of people come to the DWMA in many different classes."

"That's understandable. Is that girl with the long black ponytail Tsubaki?"

"Yes."

Blackstar was holding a brown haired boy wearing a white hoodie and dark blue jeans up by the hood. The boy was frantically trying to keep himself from slipping right out of his hoodie. Tsubaki was beside Blackstar trying to persuade him to put the poor boy down. All the while, Blackstar was yelling questions at the boy who was repeatedly denying whatever it was that he was being accused of. Kid ran up to Blackstar.

"Blackstar, what are you doing?"

"I believe this kid has information about the DSM!"

Meanwhile, Dawn watched the two talk while standing out of earshot where she couldn't hear them. She watched as Blackstar reluctantly put the brown haired boy down, who then quickly ran off into the academy. She walked forward until she could hear what they were saying.

"Why are you not in class Blackstar?"

"I could ask you the same question, Kid."

"I asked you first."

"Fine. I was trying to find information on who or what this DSM thing is. What were you doing?"

"I was showing a new student around." Kid stated, turning so Blackstar's attention was directed Dawn's way.

Dawn smiled and waved to Blackstar.

"Hi. I'm Dawn."

"Name's Blackstar. Greatest assassin ever." Blackstar said while nodding in her direction. " Say, YOU don't know anything about something called the DSM, do you?"

"Uh…umm…" Dawn stuttered over the sudden question.

She looked over Blackstar's shoulder to see Kid literally face palm himself while sighing and the girl, Tsubaki, who had stood quietly there after the boy was released, shaking her head back and forth disapprovingly.

"Hey! Answer my question new girl!"

"No. I don't know what you're talking about." Dawn replied slowly.

"You sure new girl?"

"I have a name you know." She said annoyed.

"Whatever newbie."

By now, Dawn was glaring daggers at Blackstar.

"Hi Dawn. Nice to meet you! My name is Tsubaki." Tsubaki said while stepping in between the two to block Blackstar from noticing her glare and taking it as a challenge.

"Pleasure." Dawn replied curtly while shaking Tsubaki's outstretched hand.

"The pleasure is all mine." Tsubaki said while smiling warmly.

Luckily, it did the trick and took Dawn's mind off of Blackstar's rude treatment. She returned Tsubaki's smile. Then she turned back to Kid who had joined them.

"Is there anyone else I should meet?"

"Yes and I believe they should be here shortly. Classes will be ending soon."

As if on cue, the bell signaling the end of the day's classes rang and students started piling out of the front doors seconds later. A groups of kids separated from the rest of the mod of students and began walking towards Kid, Blackstar, Tsubaki and Dawn. When they arrived, Kid introduced everyone.

"Dawn, this is Maka and her weapon partner Soul, and my weapon partners Liz and Patty. Everyone, this is Dawn. She is new here."

"So are you a weapon or a meister?" Maka asked.

"Meister."

"Don't you have a weapon?" Liz sounded puzzled.

"No."

"Then how can you call yourself a meister?" Blackstar interjected.

"Because she obviously has the ability to use a weapon, idiot." Soul defended.

"How do you know?"

"She's a meister. The title of meister is given to people who can use a weapon. Not necessarily people with weapons. The meisters here only have weapons because they are training with them."

"Then why is she here if she doesn't have a weapon!" yelled Blackstar.

Suddenly, Dawn coughed, gaining everyone's attention who had been watching Soul and Blackstar fight.

"I'm here for the class lessons. Obviously, I just can't go on any of the extra curricular assignments because I currently lack a weapon partner." She stated.

"Now I must be going back to my new apartment. I have lots of un-packing to do. See you guys tomorrow!" Dawn added cheerfully before waving with a wide smile and walking away.

"Bye Dawn!" Patty called loudly while waving wildly.

"Bye!" Dawn called back and continued walking.

Meanwhile, Maka, who had gotten a habit of checking the souls of everyone new she met ever since the mishap with not being able to see Death's soul, looked zoned out.

"Hey. Maka. You ok?" Soul asked, waving his hand in front of her face.

It reminded Kid of this morning when he stopped walking and Dawn had said practically the same thing to him while waving her hand in front of his face in the same manner. Substituting his name for Maka's of course.

"Oh. Yeah I'm fine, it's just…"

"What is it Maka?" Tsubaki asked, concerned.

"It's just…I…I can't see Dawn's soul."

**Author's Note: WooHoo! Another chapter up! Cliffhanger too! Ok, so my muse is kind of failing me lately. More reviews=boosted muse= more chapters and quicker. **

_*****PLEASE. I cannot stress the following enough. If you have any answer or comment/suggestion after reading a chapter PLEASE submit it in a review. The only way I can fix any problems that you may find or continue with things that you like as a reader, is if I get feedback on what those things are! Even if it's after this chapter for example and you just decide to not review because you think your question will be answered in later and already posted chapters, i would still like to know what you are thinking at this point. That is the only way i can improve my writing! So review and help me make my stories better for you readers!*****_

_Review Q:_ (lol it rhymes ^_^) _Why do you think Maka can't see Dawn's soul?_


	4. 3: Answers?

_**The DSM?**_

**Chapter 3: Answers?**

_**Disclaimer: I don't own soul eater or the characters, I do own my plotline, Dawn and the DSM. **_

**Recap**

"_What is it Maka?" Tsubaki asked, concerned._

"_I…I can't see Dawn's soul either."_

**End Recap**

"Huh?" Everyone but Soul and Maka said together.

"Wait. What do you mean either Maka?" Blackstar asked suspiciously.

"She means," Soul interrupted, "that one day, she was wondering what Lord Death's soul looked like. When she looked,"

"I couldn't see it." Maka said finding her voice.

"And you couldn't see Dawn's soul?" Liz was now even more confused.

"I believe that's what she said earlier, Liz." Kid stated.

"Well excuse me mister know it all." She retorted.

Kid just sighed and started walking away.

"I'm going home. Goodnight everyone. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye Kid." Everyone but Liz and Patty called after him.

"We will catch up with you later Kid!" yelled Patty.

Once he was out of both sight and ear-shot, Soul turned to Liz.

"What's up with him?"

"No idea. He does seem kind of distracted though."

"Kind of? I don't think he heard a word any of us said until you made that comment about Maka not being able to see Dawn's soul." Soul exclaimed.

"Be reasonable Soul. Even if he did miss everything until then, it was like, three sentences. That's no reason to get worked up."

Soul was about to continue when Liz held up her hand in a motion that clearly stated, 'Leave it alone.'

"Come on Patty. We better go and make sure Kid didn't have a symmetry breakdown on his way home."

"Okay!" Patty exclaimed happily.

"Bye guys." Both sisters waved.

"Bye Liz, Patty!" Tsubaki called.

"I just want answers!" Blackstar yelled to no one in particular while throwing his hands in the air.

"You want answers? Ok, let's see… yes, no, ten o' clock, four, to get to the other side…" Soul jumped at the chance to make a joke and get on Blackstar's nerves.

"Ha ha." Blackstar said sarcastically. "Really funny."

The remaining weapon and meister partners decided to part for the night. They said goodbye and left for their respective homes. While Soul and Maka were walking to their apartment, Soul noticed that Maka seemed kind of distant.

"Hey Maka, is something bothering you?"

"Huh?" she looked stunned.

"I said, is something bothering you?"

"Oh. I'm just trying to figure out why I can't see Dawn's soul. It's really bugging me. Nothing I can think of explains it." Maka frowned.

"Well, lots of people say the only way to get a song out of your head is to get a new one stuck in it."

"What do songs have to do with this?"

"Well it's similar. Like, to forget the problem of not being able to see Dawn's soul, you should try focusing on solving a different problem."

"Good advice Soul." She smiled. "But what problem should I focus on?"

By now, the meister and weapon had gotten into their apartment and were standing, facing each other between their rooms. Soul thought for a minute before turning to Maka with a wide grin on his face.

"Why, the DSM of course."

"Cool idea." Maka gave him a matching grin.

"Cool ideas come from cool people."

They both laughed before doing their signature handshake and going into their own rooms.

"Goodnight Soul."

"Night Maka."

The next day, Maka worked on ignoring the 'invisible soul' problem by focusing all her attention on the mysterious DSM. So much so, that she was zoned out from most of the conversations and exchanges that took place as she tried to decipher the mystery. So she missed Dawn's official introduction into the class. It was a good thing they had already been introduced. The day before, a seat had opened up beside Blackstar. Luckily for Dawn, Soul had jumped at the chance to sit beside his best friend. Opening up the seat between Kid and Patty and effectively putting an end to the possibility that she would have to sit by Blackstar whom she still failed to get along with.

"Class," professor Stein said while sitting backwards on his wheeled desk chair with his arms crossed on the backrest. "we have a new student today. Her name is Dawn." He then gestured to Dawn who was standing in the doorway clutching her books to her chest. When the attention of the class was directed at her, she gave a small smile and a shy wave.

"Dawn we only have one seat open so you will have to sit between Patty and Kid. Let me know if you have any problems with your seat ok?"

"Sure thing professor Stein." Dawn nodded as she hesitantly walked further into the room.

She walked up the steps to the mentioned section of seats and sat down between Patty and Kid. She put her books down in front of herself just before Patty threw her arms around her in a awkward sideways hug.

"Dawn!"

"Hello to you too Patty." She chuckled.

"We get to sit together!"

Dawn just laughed some more and pried Patty's arms off her shoulders. She then turned towards Kid who just smiled and nodded because professor Stein had started the day's lesson. The lesson was about soul wavelengths. Everyone took out some paper and a writing utensil and took notes as he gave a lecture.

"Class, today we will be talking about soul wavelengths. You all know that you sync your wavelengths with your weapon or meister to create a workable partnership. Also, when you expand and further sync your wavelengths you create soul resonance and become stronger. This comes easier for some people than others because they have more compatible wavelengths. Although, it is theorized that compatibility may not be an issue for some. Lord Death, for example, has a soul large enough that he is easily able to sync the soul wavelengths of multiple weapons, the death scythes. Soul compatibility is not required. The only requirement is that they need to be strong enough to handle being partnered with such a large soul."

"Is that why, in order to become a death scythe, a weapon needs ninety nine kishin souls and one witch soul?" a random kid near the back of the class asked.

"Yes it is." Stein answered. "Without them, the weapon would be too weak to handle it. Unfortunately, it works both ways."

"What do you mean?" Maka asked, very confused.

"What I mean, is the often after a weapon has the required amount of souls and become strong enough to be a death scythe, they become too strong for their original meister to use."

"But not always, right?"

"No, not always. I estimate it at about a fifty percent chance either way."

Then Patty raised her hand and was waving it around frantically.

"Yes, Patty?"

"So is that why Kid was able to sync the wavelengths of both me and my sister?"

"Basically. The souls of grim reapers allow for easier syncing of multiple weapon partners."

"Cool!" Patty exclaimed grinning broadly.

"Does anyone else have any questions on the subject?"

Stein looked around the rows of students, his gaze lingering on Dawn as if expecting her hand to shoot up at any second. If she had noticed, she pretended not to. Most of the class didn't notice anyway. Most being the key word. Only some of the more observant kids in the class were able to detect Stein's gaze on Dawn. Two of those kids were none other than Maka and Kid. Maka turned and consulted with Tsubaki, while Kid just stayed quiet.

"What do you think that was about Tsubaki?" Maka whispered.

"What?"

"The way professor Stein's gaze lingered on Dawn."

"It did? I hadn't noticed, but if it did I'm sure he was just expecting her to have questions because she is new that's all." She said like it was nothing important.

"I'm not sure…"

"You need to relax Maka." Tsubaki said with an encouraging smile. "You are just nervous because you couldn't see her soul. I'm sure there is a reasonable explanation that will be revealed soon enough."

"I suppose." Maka said reluctantly.

Then she returned to mulling over the DSM mystery. Later, Maka planned on going to the library to do some research. She was hoping there would be something there. By now, Stein had assigned some book work to the class. Maka worked on hers absent-mindedly, refusing to give up thinking about the DSM. All of a sudden, Kid was hit in the head with a balled up piece of paper. He looked around until her met Blackstar and Soul's gazes.

'Sorry.' Soul mouthed.

'It is for Dawn.' Blackstar added.

'Yeah. Can you give it to her?'

Kid nodded to them then turned to Dawn.

"Blackstar wants you to have this."

Dawn took the paper and opened it up to read what was written inside. Kid couldn't help but lean over and read it as well.

_How do you like sitting by Kid? ;)_

_What are you implying Blackstar? _She wrote down in neat cursive before balling it up again and throwing it towards the blue-haired boy. She managed to get it to land right in front of him. He uncrumpled it, read what she wrote, and replied before throwing it towards her again, failing miserably and hitting Kid instead. For the second time. Kid just rolled his eyes while handing it to Dawn, giving a look that made her giggle and him smile in return. Then, she opened the paper and read Blackstar's response.

_You like him don't you?_

Dawn's eyes widened and her jaw dropped for a split second before she quickly covered the expression with a more guarded one. Then she quickly scribbled her response on the paper.

_What would make you think that?_

She dreaded the answer to her own question and paused before throwing it. As fast as the second thoughts came, they left. It was a safe answer and she knew it. So she threw it anyway. Although, this time she took very careful aim and smirked when she hit her target. Kid, who was still watching and reading the conversation, laughed quietly with Soul when the ball of paper collided with Blackstar's face, right between his eyes. Blackstar was obviously not as thrilled. His scowl changed though, as he wrote a response with an evil grin on his face. Once done, he threw the resulting ball of paper toward Dawn. This time, finding his aim, he sent it flying towards her face only to have her catch it at the last second. She smirked at him before reading it.

_Please, it's obvious. You look at him like he is better than me. That is saying a lot because I am the great Blackstar!_

Dawn just shook her head and replied.

_I'm done with this conversation. Your ego is giving me a headache._

After throwing it back, she returned to her book work, ignoring any and all attempts by Blackstar to continue communicating via paper ball.

"Hey Dawn?" Patty asked.

"Yeah?" she looked up from her work.

"Do you remember what professor Stein said is not an issue for some people?"

"Soul compatibility. Some people have souls that are strong enough that it doesn't matter whether their souls are compatible with their partner's or not. Although souls of this strength are rare outside of grim reapers and almost always meisters."

"I don't remember him saying those last two points."

"He didn't. I was just adding what else I know."

"Wow. You know a lot for someone just starting here!"

"Uh, thanks. I think."

"Your welcome!" Patty said cheerfully.

After classes ended for the day, everyone decided to go to the basketball courts. Maka excused herself though, saying she had some important work to do. Investigative work that is. So, after the rest of the gang and their new member, Dawn, had left for the courts, she made her way to the library. Maka had searched the entire non-fiction section of the library and there was nothing relating even remotely to anything close to the DSM. Feeling defeated, she had almost given up and left the library when one more idea came to her. She could ask the librarian if there was anything on it. So, it was with a renewed sense of hope that she walked up to the librarian's desk and rang the bell. Within a few moments, the librarian came out and asked to see her student card. Maka handed it over and after inspecting it and handing it back, he asked her what book she was looking for.

"I was wondering if there are any books on anything referred to as the DSM."

"One minute please."

The librarian disappeared back into the stacks of books for a few minutes before re-emerging with a very thick book that had a bright blue cover.

"This is the only book with anything pertaining to the DSM available for one star meisters such as yourself."

"There's that much information on the DSM?" she asked, surprised.

"Not exactly."

The librarian put the book down and signed it out to Maka. She took it over to one of the table and, upon inspecting the cover, found it was a dictionary of sorts.

"Well maybe it says what it stands for. I was hoping for a little more information though." Maka mused to herself.

She opened the book and looked for the letter D. She searched through them until she found DSM.

"Ah. Here it is." She said aloud. "DSM is an acronym that stands for…"

Maka's voice trailed off as her eyes grew wide and her jaw dropped. Upon finishing, she slowly shut the book in shock. Then, with a sudden burst of energy, she jumped up, slammed the book onto the librarian's desk and ran as fast as her legs would carry her, heading to the basketball court.

**Author's Note: Answers? I think not! MWAHAHA! Cliffhangers are awesome to write! Horrible to read, but awesome to write. Sorry for the late update. My internet was down for a while. It was just my town too! Talk about back luck. Anyway, the reviews are lonely, so, have a heart, review and give them friends.**

_Review Q: Any idea's as to what DSM stands for and why it made Maka freak out?_


	5. 4: Say What!

**The DSM?**

**Chapter 4: Say What!**

_Disclaimer:_ _I don't own Soul Eater, only Dawn, the DSM and my plot. (except for the bits pertaining to the series)_

Recap

"Ah. Here it is." She said aloud. "DSM is an acronym that stands for…"

Maka's voice trailed off as her eyes grew wide and her jaw dropped. Upon finishing, she slowly shut the book in shock. Then, in a sudden burst of energy, she jumped up, slammed the book on the librarian's desk and ran as fast as her legs would carry her, heading to the basketball court.

End Recap

Meanwhile…

"Ok, so we have seven people. Who wants to be the ref?" Liz asked.

"I will." Tsubaki volunteered.

"Now who will be team captains?"

"Naturally, I will be a captain." Blackstar said.

"I volunteer my sis!" Patty shouted, jumping up and down.

"Fine." Liz agreed reluctantly.

"Hey, how about we make it boys against girls?" Soul suggested.

Everyone agreed and took their positions on opposite ends of the court. Liz, Patty, and Dawn on one side, facing off Blackstar, Soul and Kid on the other side. Both team captains were at the head of the triangle formations the teams had made. While the other two on each team were positioned on either side of their captains but back a few feet. Tsubaki came up between the two teams, threw the basketball in the air and quickly stepped back. Both captains jumped up but it was Liz who managed to hit it over to her team's side of the court. Patty caught it and starting dribbling. The second Patty had caught it, everyone moved positions. Liz turned towards her sister and Blackstar moved in front to try and block her from catching any passes. Soul was in front of Patty, waving his arms to try and prevent throws. Kid realized Dawn was the only person not covered and ran to cover the girl who was already sprinting to the other end of the court. Patty raised the ball like she was about to throw it and when Soul also raised his arms to block it, she quickly ducked down and bounce-passed it to her sister who had slipped away from Blackstar. Meanwhile, Dawn was having trouble getting away from Kid.

"Ugh… you're too quick!" she said, exasperated as she once again attempted and failed to get around him and open for a pass.

"Thanks." He chuckled.

"That was not a compliment!" she gave him a half-hearted smack on the back of the head.

Blackstar was just about to get the ball from Liz when she picked it up and was about to pass when she realized both Patty and Dawn were being effectively blocked. She had to throw it to someone but Patty was still farther back on the court.

"Throw it high Liz!" she heard Dawn yell.

'Oh well. Here goes nothing.' Liz thought to herself as she threw it high towards Dawn and Kid.

Liz, Patty, Soul and Blackstar watched as it flew through the air on a path sending it well above both Kid and Dawn's heads. Dawn crouched down a little before jumping high into the air, her fingers barely grasping the edge of the basketball. As soon as she was back on the ground she took off, dribbling furiously, on a breakaway for the net. With no one between her and the net it was a straight break for it where she repeated the jump, this time depositing the ball neatly through the net.

"That was frickin awesome!" Patty yelled, her voice rising in pitch throughout the sentence.

"Nice shot Dawn." Liz said.

"Thanks. Now, round two anyone?" Dawn asked with a smirk, holding up the basketball in one hand with the other on her hip.

The two teams repositioned themselves after much mumbling of a 'lucky shot' on Blackstar's part and were ready to continue. Dawn had passed the ball off to Tsubaki and now they were waiting for her to throw it.

"Hey Tsubaki wanna start us off?" Soul asked.

When there was no answer, everyone turned to look at their designated ref to see her staring down the street looking confused. After exchanging equally confused glances, the group of kids turned and went to go join Tsubaki. They all followed her gaze to see, what appeared to be, Maka running towards them. It was clear that she was getting tired but was still running as fast as she could. By the time she reached them, she was extremely worn out and breathing heavily.

"Maka? Did you just run the whole way from the academy?" Tsubaki asked, concerned for the girl.

Maka nodded her head, still panting and attempting to calm herself down enough to speak.

"Why? What could be so important?" Liz asked.

"I found out," Maka took a large breath, "what it means!"

"What what means?" Blackstar asked.

Maka took a breath, but was interrupted by her own body that gave in to the exertion and shock. She promptly passed out, falling into the arms of Soul who was the only one who reacted fast enough to catch her from falling right on her face.

"So close yet so far." Patty mumbled.

"We should get her inside somewhere." Kid suggested.

"My apartment is only a block from here. We can take her there." Dawn offered.

Since Dawn's place was the closest, the group took Maka there. They placed her down on the couch. Dawn then put a blanket over her and an ice-pack on her head to numb the headache she was sure to have. After that was taken care of, Dawn brought out some chairs from her kitchen so that there would be enough seating for everyone.

"Anyone have any idea what she was talking about?" Liz asked the group.

"I'm absolutely clueless." Patty stated.

"It could have been anything." Blackstar added.

"Yes, it could have, but I think I might know." Soul said.

"Well, what is it?"

"The DSM."

Everyone turned to stare at Soul in shock, Dawn included because she was filled in on the way to the courts.

"What about it?" Dawn forced out, sounding uncertain.

"Well, she was focusing on the DSM to get her mind off…. A different problem." He said, choosing his words carefully, as they had not told her how Maka had tried to see her soul and failed.

"So you think she figured out what it is." Tsubaki said more than asked.

"Exactly." Soul responded.

Just then Maka groaned and started to move around on the couch, almost rolling right off of it. Although, after a few seconds she was able to move herself up to a sitting position.

"So? You figured out the meaning of…" Blackstar said, urging her to continue and excited at the idea of finally figuring out what the DSM was.

"Oh, yeah. I was in the library researching the term DSM."

Blackstar made a fist pumping action while mouthing the word 'success'.

Maka continued, "Then the librarian gave me a dictionary…"

"A dictionary?" Liz asked, stunned.

"Yeah, but it was like some special one or something. Anyway, so I found the term DSM and this is what it said."

Everyone was leaning forward in anticipation. Then Patty fell flat on her face from leaning forward so far. No one noticed though, as they were all fixated on Maka's face. As she prepared to tell them. Patty, not wanting to miss a thing, decided against taking the time to stand back up and sit, and simply lifted her head from the spot she had fallen.

"DSM is an acronym that stands for…"

Everyone, including Maka, took a deep breath.

"Death…"

Another collective breath.

"Scythe…"

The tension in the room spiked as the gang anxiously awaited the 'M'.

"Meister."

Instantly, everyone's eyes widened so much that they looked and felt as though they would pop right out of their heads. At the same time, their jaws dropped to the floor. Metaphorically of course. Blackstar was the first to recover enough to speak.

"Are you sure it was meister and not meisters?"

"Yes." Maka stated simply.

"Did it give a definition?"

"No, but I think the name is pretty self explanatory don't you?"

Blackstar just nodded numbly, still half way in a state of shock.

"Bu…but… how is that possible?" Tsubaki was next to speak.

"I'm not sure. That was all it said."

"So, other people can use death scythes?"

"According to the dictionary, yes."

"I still don't see how. Only grim reapers souls are strong enough to use death scythes. Them, and occasionally their original meisters because they have compatible wavelengths."

The rest of the managed to find their voices and were now discussing the possibilities, reasons why it seemed made up, what to do and many other things. Only two people were left from the conversation, Dawn and Kid. The latter was lost deeply in a flashback brought on by the realization that he had, indeed, heard the term before. It was so long ago that all memory of it had completely fled his mind only to return again once triggered.

_**:Flashback:**_

Death the kid was barely older than two years when he gained a great curiosity for the things his father did as Lord Death. Not as Death, his father, but as Lord Death, founder of the newly created DWMA. Hence, it was no surprise when he was situated outside the entrance to the death room, listening to his father and the still human Sid discuss things.

"Sir, what about the girl?"

Lord Death turned to Sid, his head tilted ever so slightly to one side in confusion.

"The one with the large soul wavelength, sir."

"Ah! Her. She does have a name you know. I would prefer if you use it to refer to her."

Sid simply nodded in compliance.

"We will need to figure out a way to keep the witches from learning about her. Until then, I have found her and her brother a home. Her brother can attend the academy but she is far too young to. If she so chooses, she may attend the academy when she is old enough."

"What if she has another **cough**accident and the students realize?"

"Then I will train her myself until she has enough control to be enrolled."

Sid was startled.

"But sir! Why so much trouble over one girl with an unusually large wavelength?"

Lord Death just stood silently as Sid continued his rant.

"She would have to be brought from her home, here, and back home for every lesson! You are aware of how far away her new home is from death city right?"

Death continued just standing there. He gave Sid a long level look. That seemed to slow his rant although he continued to mumble something every now and then.

"Are you done?" Death asked.

Sid sighed. "Yes."

"Good. If my suspicions are correct, she will definitely be worth protecting from the witches and being trained by me."

Just then something seemed to click and a look of realization dawned on Sid's face. It was soon joined by astonishment, hope, and, shock.

"Do you really think she's…"

"Yes, I do. And I do not wish to take the chance that she is and we fail to protect her."

Sid nodded, now fully in agreement with everything Death had been saying on the subject.

"We must protect the DSM."

_**:End Flashback:**_

As Kid returned to the present he became aware of the conversation around him and the fact that Dawn was being abnormally quiet. Their gazes met each other and he tilted his head to the side a little at her pained expression, a silent way of asking 'what's wrong'. She only shook her head and replaced her expression with a small, forced smile.

"We need to go figure out who this DSM is!" Blackstar yelled.

Dawn cringed at his tone, her smile faltering.

"I agree." Soul said in a bored tone.

"Yay! Manhunt!" Patty squealed.

"Patty, it's not a manhunt." Liz deadpanned.

"Let's go." Said Maka. "We need to get more information."

They all filed out of Dawn's apartment. Kid was the last to leave and he was about to shut the door behind himself when he realized Dawn hadn't left. He turned around and found her standing by the fireplace in her living room.

"Are you coming?" he asked.

"No." she said, forcing another smile. "Go ahead with everyone else. I'll see you tomorrow 'kay?"

"Okay. See you tomorrow Dawn."

With that, he left, shutting the door behind him. Once he left, Dawn let her smile drop and sighed. She was just about to go make herself some supper when the mirror above her fireplace began ringing as waves rippled through the surface. She rushed back out into her living room and tapped the surface. The ripples and ringing ended as Lord Death's face appeared in the mirror.

"Hiya Dawn! How's school so far? I hope I haven't caught you at a bad time."

"Of course not sir, and school is going great! It's wonderful at the academy."

"That's good. Anyway, I called to give you some news."

"What news?"

"Your brother has arrived in Death City."

This time it was a genuine smile that grew on Dawn's face at the news.

"It's about time he showed up."

**Author's Note: So what did you think? Actually some answers in this chapter and personally, I think it's my best yet. Also got a flashback in there. So yeah, DSM stands for Death Scythe Meister. Let me know what you think of that and the ending there if you picked up the hint.**

_Review Q:__ Why do you think the DSM can use death scythes?_


	6. 5: Cards Anyone?

_**The DSM?**_

**Chapter 5: Cards anyone?**

_**Disclaimer: I only own Dawn, the DSM and my specific plot. Nothing else. Sadly.**_

"Indeed. I was told he ran into a few troublesome kishin egg souls on the way."

"Ah. So where is he now?" Dawn asked, eager to see her brother.

"Well, just as he came in, there was a disturbance in the outskirts of the city. I sent him to check it out. Although he is supposed to report back here after."

"Mind if I wait for him there with you? I want to surprise him." Dawn asked tentatively.

"Not at all! Come right over!" Death said cheerier than normal.

...

"Dammit!" Blackstar yelled. "How does no one know anything about the DSM!"

"Well neither did we until now and that's cause Maka went looking through the library." Tsubaki reasoned.

"And the librarian said the dictionary was the only book with anything on it that one star meisters could access." Maka added.

"Kid!" Patty yelled, startling everyone.

"What?" he asked.

"You can get a book! You're only a one star meister but you're Death's son. Doesn't that let you get any book?"

Everyone stood silent for a minute. Some simply in slight shock, others just quiet and wide eyed as they all stared at Patty.

"What?" she asked, confused.

"Patty," Liz said slowly. "That was actually a really smart idea."

"Why is everyone so surprised?" Patty sounded somewhere between offended and upset.

"It's just…."

"That it was smarter than your average ideas." Maka cut in.

"Oh." Patty said thoughtfully. "Okay!" she added cheerfully.

There were sighs of relief all around as she returned to her cheerful attitude and disaster was narrowly avoided.

"Off to the library!" she yelled pointing in the direction of the academy and marching off with everyone else following her.

At the library, Death the Kid walked up to the librarians desk. The man was standing there, reading a book of his own. Kid wasted no time and put his student card on the desk, back up so the man could see he was part of Death's family. The man's eyes widened as he waited to have Kid let him know what book he was looking for.

"I need the most informative book you have on someone known as the DSM or Death Scythe Meister." He stated in a serious, no room to argue tone.

The librarian nodded and quickly disappeared behind the stacks of books, heading straight for the most classified section. He reappeared with a small black book. He handed it to Kid, along with a small key. Kid was about to ask what the key was for when he noticed a small lock on the side of the book. The cover was just a plain black cover with the letters DSM on the front in small, white block letters. The lock on the side was simple and white, as was the key, that had Death's mask on the end, go figure. Kid walked over to the table that Soul, Maka, Blackstar, Tsubaki, Liz, and Patty were all seated at. He sat down and, after looking around at everyone, turned the key in the lock and opened the book. He was shocked to find that only the first initial page had writing, the rest was blank. Either way, he shrugged it off and read what it did say just loud enough for the rest of the people seated at the table to hear.

"DSM is an acronym standing for Death Scythe Meister."

"We know that already." Blackstar interjected.

"Although, there is no recorded history of anyone meeting the DSM description, it is speculated that some people may have souls with wavelength strengths similar to that of a reaper's. Making their souls often too strong for any normal weapon to be paired with them. It is rumored that someone given the DSM title has a wavelength strong enough to rule out the need for soul compatibility. Sometimes, they can even wield a weapon they have just met. Their soul wavelength being strong enough to make up for the lack of compatibility or practice."

"Is that all it says?" Tsubaki asked after Kid had finished.

"Yes. It appears there is only generic information. Nothing specific."

"That's not cool." Soul stated.

"Maybe we should just ask Death himself. I'm sure he already knows we've been getting books on it from the library. I mean, if it's that important and secretive then I think he would be notified about who looks for books about the DSM and stuff." Patty suggested while playing with a loose string hanging from her shirt.

Everyone was once again shocked but recovered much quicker this time around.

"Wow Patty! You are on a role today!" Liz smiled.

"Thanks!" Patty giggled. "Let's go use a mirror!"

The gang of weapons and meisters went over to the mirror in the library and decided it was good to use because everyone could see and the library was deserted. There was no one around to overhear their conversation. Maka stepped forward and breathed on the surface of the mirror and wrote in the number while quietly saying the rhyme to herself. The mirror rippled for a few seconds before the death room came into view. Everyone was once again shocked. This time it wasn't a smart idea from Patty that shocked them, it was the sight in the death room. A small white table was a few feet in front of the mirror and seated at the table were none other than Death and Dawn, facing each other, playing cards of all things.

"Ha!" Dawn said loudly, slapping her last card down in the pile of cards at the middle of the table. "Down and out!"

"What! No way!" Death said.

"Yep." She smirked.

"Best four out of six?"

"You're on! But don't be surprised when I beat you, again."

"We'll see about that." Death said in a challenging tone.

"Uh, Dad?" Kid spoke up awkwardly.

Death paused from dealing out the cards again and looked towards the mirror.

"Oh. Hiya Kiddo. What's up?"

"Nothing much but what are you doing?"

"Dawn and I are playing cards to pass the time." He said while returning to dealing out the cards.

"I see that."

Death had finished dealing out the cards. Both him and Dawn picked up their cards and took a look at the hands they were dealt. Dawn looked up from her cards to give Death a challenging smirk, clearly indicating she had a winning set.

"Listen father, we would like to talk about the DSM."

Dawn's smirk fell and Death sighed.

"All right. But come to the death room. It must be discussed in secret."

Without a response, the connection was cut and both mirrors returned to normal as the kids hurried off to the death room. Lord Death turned from the mirror to look back at the young girl seated across the table from him. She was staring down at her hands which had put the cards back down onto the table in front of her. She had a distant look in her eyes and a small frown on her face. He got up from his seat and walked over to Dawn. Death gently laid what he could of his giant hand on the girl's small shoulder. This seemed to shake her from her daze as she looked up at him, not bothering to hide the fear in her wide purple eyes.

"Do not worry, Dawn. They'll understand." He said softly, trying to reassure her.

"But what if they don't?"

"I will make sure they do. I promise."

Dawn just nodded and looked back down at her hands.

Death sighed again. "Dawn?"

She looked back up at him.

"Have I ever broken a promise to you?"

Not having to think about it, she shook her head.

"Then why would I start now?"

She just shrugged her shoulders, not knowing if she could trust her voice to speak without sounding shaky.

"You trust me right?"

She nodded once again before managing to force out a few words. "With my life."

"Then trust me, they'll understand after I explain it."

Finally, a small smile crept onto her face. Just then, the group made it into the death room, having run through the school and down the guillotine hallway. Blackstar, after seeing them this way, Dawn smiling up at Death with his large hand on her shoulder, just had to make a comment about it.

"Ugh! You two look like a father comforting his daughter. Wait, you two aren't related are you?" he said sounding disturbed.

Both Death and Dawn turned with wide eyes toward Blackstar before exchanging awkward glances. Then they both promptly burst out laughing, hands around their stomachs as they tried to control their laughter.

"What's so funny?"

"That's absolutely ridiculous!" Dawn laughed. "We're not related. We are more like, really good friends."

"But you just got in death city a few days ago!"

"Well, owing your life to someone kinda brings you closer, I guess."

At this statement, Death quickly calmed down and faced Dawn.

"Now you're the one being ridiculous."

"Death, my brother and I would have died in the alley." She stated with her voice devoid of emotion.

Lord Death was about to object when a voice coming from the entrance to the Death room beat him to it.

"Indeed, we would have."

Everyone turned to see the young, blond haired, blue eyed, death scythe standing there with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Is that…" Patty said in awe, unable to finish her sentence.

"I believe it is." Liz answered, knowing full well what her sister's question was.

"Justin!" Dawn giggled excitedly.

She rushed over to the priest dressed boy and flung her arms around him. Justin smiled widely and returned the hug.

"It's good to see you too Dawn."

All the meisters and weapons could do was stare in shock which they seemed to be doing a lot lately. Lord Death sighed yet again and the attention in the room turned to him.

"It appears I have a lot to explain then. So, let's begin."

**Author's Note: Okay! Apologies for the late update and short chapter. Exams are coming up so I'm loaded with school work and projects. Also, I wanted the next chapter to be the past events being explained but written in the same way as the story. If you don't know what I mean, you'll see when the next chapter is posted. I will update as often as possible but it will be slowed during the exam period which, my opinion can't end soon enough!**

_Review Q:__ What do you think about Justin being her brother?_


	7. 6: Flash to The Past

_**The DSM?**_

**Chapter 6: Flash to The Past**

_Disclaimer: I do not own Soul Eater._

On with the story!

Lord Death was walking down the street back home after another day at the newly established Death Weapon Meister Academy, or DWMA for short. He was glad that he came up with just calling it the DWMA. Death Weapon Meister Academy was certainly a mouthful at times. Death chuckled at the thought of everyone having to go around calling it by the entire name all the time. He continued walking until he heard what sounded like someone's muffled crying coming from up ahead. He quickened his pace slightly then stopped when the sound was coming from behind him instead. Death walked backwards until it sounded like the person sobbing was beside him. He turned his head to find himself looking down a dark alleyway. Curious, he slowly walked in the alley, looking around for the source of the noise. After he took a couple more steps it stopped. Turning around to leave, he stopped mid-turn as he caught a glimpse of what little sunlight there was glinting off a small metal object. Peering closer, Death could see the edge of a blade sticking out from the shadows. As he walked towards it, the sobbing started again. Death continued closer until he could see shapes in the shadows. Soon the dark shapes were visible and he gasped at what he saw.

A small boy who looked to be about six or seven was holding his arm out in front of him, the guillotine blade that stuck from his forearm held both defensively and protectively. His short, light blonde hair was dirty and disheveled, and his dark blue eyes were puffy and red, one with a large bruise forming around it. What confused Death was that the boy wasn't crying and yet the sound continued. Death looked down from the boy's face to see a small girl, looking no older than his own child, crying into the boy's chest. What had initially startled Lord Death though, was the fact that both children were not only alone in an alleyway, but their clothes were torn and covered in dried blood. He hoped it was not their own and yet something told him it was. What was exposed of their skin was littered in scratches and bruises. The young girl lifted her head from the boy's chest to peer at the man who had discovered them. She had equally, if not more, puffy reddened eyes. They were purple and seemed to be darkened in sadness, pain, and fear.

The girl had a visibly throbbing red hand mark on her cheek, large enough that only and adult could have made it. Her knotted brighter blonde hair fell in tangles around her face, reaching just below her chin. Death knelt down, instinctively reaching out to try and help the beaten and bruised children. The boy raised his guillotine arm between himself and Death, using his other arm to hold the girl protectively to his chest and she complied without hesitation.

"D-don't come any c-closer!" the boy demanded although his voice was scared and shook.

Lord Death just reached out and laid one of his fingers on the flat top part of the blade. Slowly, so as not to startle the boy, he lowered it.

"I'm not here to hurt you." He spoke slowly and calmly. "I just want to help."

The boy, deciding it was better to take the chance with this stranger than surely succumb to his injuries in the alley, lowered his arm the rest of the way and retracted the blade. He did not stop watching Death suspiciously though. Death stood up, at the same time, so did the children although their legs were shaking as they walked behind him out of the alley. The small girl walked while clinging to the blonde boy's arm, holding on tightly, almost appearing glued to him.

"So," Death began, glancing at the children over his shoulder. "what are your names?"

"I'm Justin." The boy spoke. "And this is my little sister, Dawn." He gestured to the girl.

The rest of the walk was quiet and whoever they past by gave the odd group questioning glances. Before long they arrived at Death's house. The children followed him inside cautiously. They walked into what appeared to be his living room. He gestured for them to sit on the couch and they did. Death walked out of the room for a few seconds to make a call and, before long, and odd looking man dressed in stitched clothes, wearing glasses, and who had a large bolt through his head entered the room.

"Children, I don't believe I have properly introduced myself. I am Lord Death and this here is Dr. Stein." He said.

When Death gestured to Stein while introducing them, Stein simply nodded his head in their direction.

"What are their names?" he asked, turning to Death.

"The boy is Justin and the girl's name is Dawn."

Death proceeded to explain to the kids that Stein was going to 'fix them right up' and there was going to be absolutely nothing else done to them. He had said the last part in a very strict tone with his eyes narrowed at Stein. Also, to make sure nothing else was to happen to them, he would be present with Stein as the kids were patched up. Unfortunately, they would have to help one at a time so the other would have to wait out here. Both were automatically opposed to being separated but after some reassuring from Lord Death, Justin volunteered to go first. After they had gone off in another room, Dawn was left alone on the couch. She hugged her knees to her chest, tears falling silently down her cheeks. Her brother had been her only source of comfort right now and he was gone. Not forever of course, but carted off to who knows where with a couple of strangers and now, she was alone in a strange place not knowing what might happen next. She hid her face in her knees and continued to cry. Dawn did not know how much time had passed but after awhile, she heard a quiet voice beside her.

"Are you alright?" it asked.

Her head snapped up and turned to the source of the voice. Beside her, was a small boy who looked about her age. He had short, black hair that had three horizontal white stripes on just one side. The boy was watching her curiously with his bright yellow eyes. Dawn only shook her head and buried it in her knees again.

"Oh." He said dejectedly before adding cheerfully, "Hey wanna see something?"

Dawn brought her head back up and looked at the boy. She turned her head slightly to one side in a quizzical expression and he took it as a yes. Grinning, he stuck out his hand palm facing her. Then small black skulls appeared and were floating around for a few seconds before withdrawing back into his hand. Dawn just sat there with wide eyes for a minute before a small grin grew on her face. The boy smiled back and stuck his hand out in front of him.

"My name's Death the Kid. What's yours?"

"Dawn." She said quietly while gently shaking his hand.

The young Kid laughed. "You're shy aren't you?"

Dawn nodded, her still knotted hair bouncing as she did so. Kid just laughed again, making Dawn's smile grow. The two children continued talking and Dawn was becoming more comfortable in this place as the minutes ticked by. In fact, Kid was telling Dawn about death city and she was in turn listening so intently that neither child heard the three people re-enter the room. Death, Stein and Justin stood just inside the room watching for a few minutes as the kids talked excitedly although it was really Kid doing most of the talking.

All three people were confused when Dawn blurted out, "Do it again!"

They watched as Kid held out his hand and the black skulls floated around before withdrawing back into his palm. The young girl started giggling as she fell backwards on the couch. She just laid there for a while, laughing, before getting up with a wide grin on her face.

"That's so cool!"

Kid grinned. "Thanks."

That was when the three made their presence known. They talked for a few minutes of the fact Kid seemed to have calmed Dawn down and the two had formed an instant friendship. After those few minutes it was Dawn's turn to be cleaned up and taken care of. Justin and Kid stayed behind and, after reassuring nods from both of them, Dawn left the room with Stein and Lord Death. Once in the other room that they had taken her brother into, Stein gave Dawn what you would consider a basic check-up from any doctor. After he inspecting a rather disturbing looking gash on her left arm, he turned to Lord Death and told him that Dawn's wound was infected and he would need to give her an antibiotic medicine that had no other way of being administered then by a needle. Death nodded and Stein filled a needle with the antibiotic. While he was walking towards Dawn, he noticed she was visibly shaking at the sight of the needle in his hand.

"Don't worry. It's going to help your arm."

She seemed to relax slightly so Stein reached out to her arm to inject the needle. Although, he was definitely not expecting what happened next. The second he touched her arm, a large, bright purple flash lit up the area of her arm and transferred itself to his arm through where he touched her. The force behind it sent him staggering back a few feet before tripping over his own stumbling feet. With a small cry of shock, he fell backwards and knocked his head off of the corner of the desk he had set his tools on. Stein's body slumped to the ground against the desk, unconscious. His hand lost grip on the needle and it rolled away. Dawn turned to Death as the purple glow on her arm faded. He was watching the motionless form of Stein in shock. Then, he slowly turned to meet Dawn's gaze. As soon as their eyes met, Dawn squinted her eyes shut and turned her head away, her hands clenching into small fists at her side. This just turned Death's shock into confusion. Suddenly, he understood. She was bracing herself for a blow she was sure was coming, and soon, because she had not had the ability to control whatever power it was that (literally) shocked Stein.

"Dawn, I'm not going to hurt you." He said softly.

She turned to look at him with her own look of shock and confusion. Death just sighed, he felt bad for the children. It was becoming all too clear to him that they had been abused and left for dead in that alley. Thinking back to the light on Dawn's arm, Death realized it had looked very similar to that of a soul force attack. It had made him wonder if it was indeed an unintended soul force attack. If so, then how was it possible that such a young, injured child could knock Stein unconscious? Then again, he was unconscious because he lost his balance and tripped, but she was able to send him back a good few feet. Curious, Death decided to take a look at her soul. When he looked, he was startled to find that Dawn's soul was of average size but very strong for someone of her age and current condition. So she had an abnormally large soul wavelength compacted into an average sized soul. Seeing this, it was no surprise to Death that she had trouble controlling it. He walked over to Dawn and knelt down so he was looking her in the eyes.

"No one will hurt you because of what you can do. Not again. In fact, we will help you learn to control it, okay?"

A wide grin spread on Dawn's face as she nodded her head enthusiastically. Lord Death was just about to stand back up when he was stopped by Dawn's small arms wrapping around his neck.

"Thank you." She said, then released him from her hug.

"You're welcome."

After Stein woke up, he managed to patch up her injuries and the trio walked back into the living room where Justin had fallen asleep in one of the chairs and Kid on the couch. Dawn giggled at the sight of her brother and new friend sprawled over the seats. Death, not having noticed they were asleep, came in with one of his usual cheery greetings.

"What's up, what's up, what's up? Sorry we took so long boys."

Justin was simply startled awake with a small yelp. Kid was not so lucky. He had been laying on the couch on his stomach near the edge. His father's loud and cheerful greeting woke him and, with a slightly louder yelp, he fell off the side of the couch and landed flat on his back. With a quietly muttered 'ow' he rolled over on his stomach. Dawn skipped over and sat down by his head.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah."

Giggling, she stood up and offered her hand to the fallen boy. He smiled and gladly took it, allowing her to help him up. During this, Stein snuck off, his work having been done. It was getting dark outside so Death decided it was time for the kids to get some sleep. Once Kid was in his own room and the two other children were set up in the guest room, Lord Death began making permanent living arrangements for the two children.

A few days later Dawn walked into the kitchen of Death's house in a light blue, short sleeve dress. Her hair was clean and free of tangles. Her brother Justin was already seated at the table, his own hair clean and was wearing a white t-shirt and black pants. A minute later, Kid came from his room looking like Justin's opposite in a black shirt and white pants. They all had breakfast and then there was a knock on the front got it and came back with the couple whom he had already discussed with the children, their foster parents. The children had understood the process but were still sad about leaving Death and Kid as they had all become good friends over their few days stay. Justin was extremely grateful to Lord Death for saving him and his sister and promised he would never forget it. Dawn walked over to Kid.

"Bye Kid." Dawn said with a sad smile on her face.

"Bye Dawn." He said with an equally sad smile.

Death walked the two children outside, his own son staying in the house. There was no need to get their items seeing as they had none. Justin said bye to Death and got into the family's car and began talking with them. Then Death turned to Dawn and knelt down.

"Listen, after a week or so, your brother will be coming back to attend the academy after getting settled in your new home. You are too young to attend but I will continue to teach you to control your wavelength. Your new family has been told about your condition and you will have a mirror in your room so you can call me to train or just talk. Oh, and one more thing." He pulled out a small choker made of a stretchy black material with a small white charm of his mask on it. "Don't take this off. Ever. Ok? Can you promise me that?"

Dawn nodded as she took it and put it on. After saying goodbye, she ran off into the car and showed her brother the choker. They both waved as the car drove off the far away town that their new home was at.

**Author's Note: Yay! Background chapter and cute Dawn and Kid moments there ^_^ adorable little children. Thank you to my reviewers. **

**Aubrey09 – I hope this clears up the soul wavelength thing for you. And thanks for reviewing the majority of my chapters. **

**DaphneAlIsOn – Glad to hear you like it, I definitely shall keep writing as frequently as possible.**

**And my good friend Sydney, my nerd friend, soul eater buddy, and fellow history rebel. Checking my story in the middle of history class, don't act like I don't know. I do sit right beside you. ;) Anyway thanks for the off-the-web suggestions and comments. Even your fake british on-the-web review. "I do say, splendid reviewing indeed old chap." **

My apologies to any British people who may possibly find offense in that, although I don't see how but just to be safe.

_Review Q: What do you think it is about the choker that's so special?_


	8. 7: Questions Answered

_**The DSM?**_

**Chapter 7: Questions Answered**

_Disclaimer: I don't own Soul Eater only Dawn, the DSM and my plotline. (this is getting annoying -_- )_

After Death was finished he gazed around to everyone who had seated themselves on the edge of the stage in the death room. Justin and Dawn sat beside each other and Kid sat on Dawn's other side. Beside Kid was Patty, then Liz and Tsubaki who was beside her meister. Next was Soul then Maka was on the end. Everyone sat quietly for a minute, thinking about the story they were just told, well, everyone except Death, Justin and Dawn. The three also sat quietly but were watching the rest of the group carefully, judging each and every person's reaction. Kid looked relieved and like his own memories of the time had resurfaced and had proven what his father just told him. Patty was grinning widely, her eyes shining with excitement or maybe it was something else. It was always hard to tell with her. Liz had already pushed aside her own feelings about what she had just learnt as she stared, worried and cautious at her sister's face. Tsubaki sat calmly running her fingers through her long black ponytail, a striking contrast to her meister, Blackstar, beside her as his eyes were narrowed in a vicious glare. At first it wasn't directed at anyone but it was soon turned in Dawn's direction. Said girl cringed slightly as their eyes met and quickly went to scanning the reactions of the rest of the group. Soul was just sitting looking bored as he did often and beside him, Maka was frowning slightly and her eyes were squinted in confusion. She seemed zoned off in her own world, probably trying to figure out something she found confusing.

"So…. What happened next?" Soul asked.

"Yeah, it can't just end there." Liz reasoned, prying her eyes away from her now maniacally grinning sister to look at Death.

"Well it happened just like I told Dawn all those years ago. Justin came to the academy where he was able to make himself a death scythe without the help of a meister. He had slight trust issues after the incident that ended with them in the alley, so he did not trust a meister to wield him. Besides, it would have been very difficult to actually wield a guillotine in the first place."

"I don't see how that would be possible at all." Dawn added.

"Indeed, guillotines are normally stationary weapons. You two are a bit of an odd family aren't you?"

"Yep." Dawn popped the 'p' and was grinning widely.

"Anyways," Death continued. "I trained Dawn on how to control her wavelength easier through my mirror because people might get suspicious if such a young child attended the academy. Although you cannot train someone to fight through a mirror and now that she is old enough and the kishin has been revived, she has come here to learn to fight. We will need all the help we can get and Dawn's abilities may prove very useful."

"Wait a minute. What abilities?" Tsubaki asked, her tone purely curious. There was no hostility in it which Dawn was very thankful for.

"Oh." Death stated thoughtfully. "I suppose I did not make it very clear did I? I thought it was quite obvious. Then again, I am the one telling the tale not the one listening."

"What didn't you make very clear?" Soul asked.

"Well you came here asking for information on the DSM and I gave you a story about how I found Dawn and Justin. I thought that in itself made it obvious."

"Made what obvious?" Liz demanded, impatience creeping into her voice.

"Dawn is the DSM." Kid abruptly answered for his father.

"Very good Kiddo!" Death praised cheerfully, giving him a thumbs up with his giant hand.

Everyone in the room other than Death, Justin and Kid stared shocked at Dawn. They all had other emotions mixed in with their shock. Soul and Liz were understandably surprised while Maka was extremely confused. The kind of confused you get when someone starts rambling rapidly to you in a language you've never heard of before. Blackstar looked outraged for who know what reason. Lastly, Patty and Tsubaki had looks of awe mingled with their shock although Patty's left as soon as it came, returning to her distant giddy look. Maka opened her mouth slightly as if to say something but quickly shut it again.

"Is there something you would like to ask Maka?" Lord Death spoke curiously after seeing her about to speak.

"Well, I was wondering…"

"Yes?" he pressed after she was silent for a few moments.

"Well, you said Dawn had a normal sized soul with a strong wavelength but, I looked and I couldn't see it. What was with that?"

There were several nods from the others in the group, all wanting to know why.

"Ah. That is because of her choker. Or more specifically, the charm."

"What about it?"

"Well you see, just before I found Dawn and Justin a witch by the name of Fantasia was captured. She had grown old and her soul was too weak to perform a soul protect spell anymore. Fantasia had prepared for this however, and spent a good deal of her younger life preparing for it. That is why she was not captured earlier. She did not present a threat until she had finished her preparations. Fantasia had infused a small white stone with a soul protect spell, put it on a gold band, and wore it as a ring. It provided her with the same effects as any normal soul protect spell. The only problem with this was that as soon as she took it off, the spell no longer worked. Then she was captured and brought into the DWMA and put into a cell. One day during Dawn and Justin's residence with me, she was brought out for sentencing. She caught sight of Dawn and knew what she was right away. We became aware of the soul protect stone soon after and decided to use it to hide Dawn's soul. Otherwise, other witches would have become aware of her and try to kill her, seeing her power as a threat."

"So, basically, the charm is the stone reshaped, and it hides her soul with a soul protect spell?"

"Ya."

Once again, almost everyone in the group turned to stare at Dawn. Death, Justin, Kid and Patty were the ones who didn't. Death and Justin already knew, Kid was not surprised, and Patty was still off in her own little world. Meanwhile, Blackstar continued to look outraged.

"Okay." Dawn said awkwardly. "This whole, staring at me thing is getting kind of old and awkward."

"You shouldn't be so surprised." Kid added. "Blackstar finds out about someone called the DSM coming and two days later a new girl shows up and no one else comes other than some death scythes? I wouldn't exactly call that a coincidence."

Dawn scoffed and turned to smirk at Kid with one raised eyebrow.

"You didn't exactly figure it out right away either Einstein."

Kid just smirked back and rolled his eyes. Liz turned from watching the exchange to gaze at her sister who was still zoned out in her own little world, immersed in her thoughts. She reached over and poked her sister's cheek, causing her head to turn in the other direction. Patty was unfazed though, and continued staring forward blankly with that giddy expression on her face. Liz stood up and walked in front of Patty, leaning down so her face was only inches from Patty's.

"Hey Patty? You've been awfully quiet. What's on your mind?"

That seemed to snap Patty out of her trance.

"Awww!" Patty cooed, giggling and bringing her hands up below her chin in fists. "That's sooo cute!"

"What is cute?" Liz asked as everyone fell silent and turned to watch Patty.

"That, that, thing. The one with Kid and Dawn."

"What thing Patty? You have to be more specific."

"The stuff from a long time ago. You know, where they were all like, "Are you okay?" and stuff. Caring about each other, adorable!" Patty squealed and fell backwards.

Dawn and Kid turned to look at each other. When their gazes met, they both quickly looked in the opposite direction as their cheeks turned bright red. Lucky for them, before anyone could notice, Blackstar jumped up and loudly yelled, "Dammit!"

"Is something wrong Blackstar?" Tsubaki asked gently.

"Is something wrong? Of course something's wrong! She's stealing my spotlight! I'm the star of this show!"

There were several groans from the group and Maka and Liz actually face palmed. Dawn and Justin just watched confused while it appeared that Death had an idea of what was coming next but was not entirely sure.

"We need to settle this!" Blackstar yelled, turning and pointing at Dawn.

"Uh, what exactly is it that we need to settle?" she asked completely dumbfounded.

"You are distracting everyone from thinking about me!"

Dawn turned to Kid. "Is he, always like this?"

"More or less. He did the same thing to me on my first day at the academy." Kid said, shrugging it off like it was no big deal.

"We need to fight!" Blackstar continued his rant while glaring at Dawn.

"Oh great. So you're an ego maniac and violent. That's just super!" Dawn exclaimed sarcastically.

"That's it! Now it's personal!"

"And it wasn't before?" she asked with a smug smile.

Lord Death sighed and turned to face Dawn.

"It sounds an awful lot like you're excepting his challenge."

"Maybe I am." She said, not taking her eyes off of Blackstar.

"Are you sure you can handle it?"

"What do you mean?" Dawn turned to face him in confusion.

"I have no doubt that you have the knowledge and quite possibly the reflexes to dodge his attacks, that much I was able to teach you through the mirror, but you haven't had even one lesson on offensive skills. Then there is the problem of your soul wavelength. If you use it in battle without enough control, it could create a backlash on you and it's not like you have anything else to fight with."

"Oh, right." Dawn said thoughtfully and kind of upset.

"What are you afraid of? That I might beat you? Wait, who am I kidding? Of course I'll beat you! I am the great Blackstar!" he exclaimed then proceeded to laugh loudly.

"Maybe I am."

"Ha! I knew it!"

"But not for the reason you think."

"Huh?" Blackstar actually managed to stop looking so smug to stare at Dawn quizzically.

"If your ego gets any bigger, I'm worried your head might explode." She stated calmly, pretending to examine her nails for emphasis.

"Actually," Death interjected before Blackstar could yell at Dawn again. "the main concern here is that, worse case scenario, you both could end up dead."

Everyone in the room visibly paled as they looked at Death. Even Dawn and Blackstar paused from their bickering and looked stunned.

"But… how?" Maka asked.

"Well, we don't actually know what Dawn's wavelength is and isn't capable of. For all we know, once she uses soul force, she may end up creating a pulse of her wavelength strong enough to stop Blackstar's heart without intending to. It may even be strong enough that a great deal of energy will still remain and flood back into her own body fast and sudden enough to stop her own heart as well. As nearly impossible as it seems, it is still a possibility. One that, no matter how improbable, we cannot take the risk of it happening. Dawn is still not in complete control of her wavelength. It is proving extremely difficult for her average sized soul to control such a large wavelength. Until she can however, we will not know exactly what she is capable of."

"Okay. I think that's enough information for today." Soul groaned while rubbing his head.

"Yes. It is a lot to take in. Perhaps you should all go home now, it's getting late."

Everyone nodded and, after saying goodbye to Lord Death, left the death room and began walking out of the academy. That's when Dawn turned down a different hallway towards another part of the academy.

"Where are you going Dawn?" Maka asked curiously.

"Oh I'm not tired so I'm going to go train."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. Besides, I owe Blackstar a fight." She said smirking in his direction.

"Sweet." The boy said, grinning wildly.

"Yep. Bye guys, see you tomorrow!" she called, waving as she walked off.

Later that night, after Dawn had finally finished training for the day and was walking home when she heard Patty giggling hysterically as usual in the distance. Dawn followed the sound and soon she came upon Patty along with her sister and meister who was on the ground mumbling something about trash.

"Uh, Liz." Dawn said to the closest of the sisters. "What's going on?"

"Oh hey Dawn." Liz sounded exasperated. "Kid is just having a symmetry breakdown. Again." She sighed.

"I see. Does this happen often?"

"Well, it depends."

Dawn nodded and watched silently as Kid muttered to himself from his position on the ground and Patty giggled crazily beside him.

"I'm nothing but useless trash." Kid continued.

At that statement, Dawn frowned and it continued to deepen throughout his episode.

"I deserve to die." He continued, completely unaware of the angered girl who had joined them.

This sent Dawn over the edge. She walked quickly up to the reaper's crouched form and swiftly kicked him in the side. With a small surprised cry, he fell over onto his side to look up at the fuming girl above him. Her hands were clenched in fists at her sides and all was quiet for a moment. Even Patty had stopped laughing to watched Dawn questioningly.

"Don't you dare talk about dying so easily. You have friends and family and people who care about you. You matter, Kid. To many people who couldn't care less if you were symmetrical or not because they like you for who you are. Think about that the next time you think you should die just because you are not completely symmetrical."

With that said, she stormed off, leaving the twins and their meister alone.

"Wow." Liz muttered to herself while helping a still stunned Kid off of the ground. "She sure doesn't sugar coat things or hold back her opinions does she?"

The two watched as she disappeared in the distance until Patty started jumping up and down in front of them singing, "She's pissed!" over and over again.

**Author's Note: Sorry for the late update. All I can really say is shit happens. Anyways, thank you to all my favoriters (yes I just made that up) and especially my reviewers. Honestly, if any of you have any thoughts, comments or suggestions please put them in a review. They make it worth writing the story. **

_And for you visual readers, I am putting up pictures of my oc with the characters on my newly created deviantart account so please check it out. The link to my gallery is on my profile._


	9. 8: Payback?

_**The DSM?**_

**Chapter 8: Payback?**

The next day Dawn went to class an hour early. She put her hand to the door to find it unlocked as Lord Death told her it would be when he called her last night to check if she had gotten home safely and to tell her that, if she wished, Stein would be in class early today so she could train. Dawn pushed the door open slowly and soundlessly, just enough for her to squeeze through. Which actually wasn't much because she was so small. Once inside she turned around and carefully shut the door. The only sound heard was the quiet 'click' as the door shut fully.

"Paranoid or nervous?" a monotone voice spoke behind her.

"Ah!" Dawn's shriek caught in her throat as she whirled around to come face to face with Stein who was watching her in a bored fashion.

"A bit jumpy it seems." He muttered before turning and walking back to his desk.

Dawn watched as he sat himself back down in his wheeled desk chair that he almost never left. He opened up a book and started taking notes for the day's lesson plan. Stein waited a few minutes for Dawn to calm down. After she had relaxed she made her way to the front of his desk, her boots making echoing thuds through the near empty classroom.

"So," he said, looking up from his planner. "what brings you here so early?"

"Lord Death suggested I come early so I can train a little with my soul wavelength and fighting skills before class. Blackstar's challenge got him thinking of how I need to learn how to fight."

"And he wants me to train you?" Stein asked sounding unsure.

"Yeah, why?"

"Well, you are kind of, his student I guess. I mean, other than Kid, you are the only one he teaches. Well in battle technique at least."

"Really?"

"Yeah. You two are like his prodigies or something like that. Either way, Lord Death can't take the time to give private lessons to each student. That is why the DWMA was formed. To teach a large number or meisters and weapons in a coordinated fashion. The only reason you and Kid get special treatment is because he is Lord Death's son and you, well you know why."

"Yeah."

"Anyway, I don't see the point in either of you coming to the academy. Most of the stuff we teach here you already know." He stated while absentmindedly turning the large screw in his head.

Dawn smiled and shrugged before clapping her hands in front of her and rubbing them together.

"So. We gonna do this or not?"

"I guess we shall."

As soon as Stein finished talking he jumped over his desk and lunged at Dawn. She quickly side stepped, continuing the momentum and aiming a kick at his back. Stein was faster though and he spun around to catch her foot just before it collided with his face. He smirked and shoved her backwards. Unable to stay balanced on one leg she fell backwards but managed to back roll at the last second and landed in a crouch. Dawn jumped up and stood in a fighting stance, her fists held in front of her and her feet spaced out with her legs bent slightly.

"Not bad but let's step it up a notch." Stein grinned, soul force sparks coming from his hand.

"This is payback isn't it?" Dawn asked miserably.

This confused the professor. "For what?"

"Wait. You don't remember?"

"Remember what?"

"Nevermind." Dawn said, shaking her head and closing her eyes as she laughed quietly to herself.

Stein took advantage of her being distracted and ran quietly up to her. He stuck his hand, palm open and fingers down, into her stomach before he used soul force. Dawn barely had time to widen her eyes before she was sent flying across the room.

"Lesson one." Stein said coolly as she slumped to the floor after hitting the wall on the other side of the room. "Never let your guard down."

"Damn." Dawn groaned as she pulled herself up off of the ground.

She got up, stumbled over to the front row and unceremoniously fell down into one of the seats. Crossing her arms on the desk, she rested her head in them, turning it sideways to look at Stein.

"You know," she started with a smile growing on her face. "Besides hitting the wall, that tickled." She finished the sentence giggling.

"Tickled?" Stein asked astounded.

"Yeah. Was it supposed to hurt?"

"Well, yeah. That was kind of the point."

"You really are crazy aren't you?"

"So I've been told."

Dawn buried her head in her arms.

"Absolute nutcase." She muttered. Then added, "Damn that's creepy." When she heard him turning the screw in his head.

Stein walked back to his chair, sitting backwards and returning to his notes.

"But still Dawn, don't let down your guard in a fight."

"Lesson learnt teach!" she said, giving a quick mock salute before wincing and gently holding her arm.

"Now get out of here, I've got a lesson to plan."

"What about my soul wavelength?"

"What about it?"

"I was told to practice with it as well."

"Ok." Stein sighed and motioned for Dawn to come to him.

Dawn got up and walked over to the teacher's desk, once again her boots filling the silence of the unusually empty room. When she got to the desk, Stein turned himself around in his chair to face her.

"Hit me." He said bluntly.

"What? Why?"

"We have to test your wavelength right? The only proper way for that is to use it and see what happens." He stated like it was obvious while watching her from over his glasses.

"Okay…" Dawn said, reaching out and laying a hand cautiously on Stein's shoulder. "You sure?"

"Yes. Hit me. Let's see what you've got." He taunted.

Dawn simply nodded and allowed the purple light indicating a soul force attack to flow from her arm down to her hand and into Stein. The force pushed him back while still on his chair. Before Dawn could comprehend that he was in fact still on his chair, it hit a bump in the floor and he fell backwards, hitting his head off the ground with such speed and force that he was knocked out. Stein was left unconscious, legs up in the air, and still half on his chair. The wheels of which were still spinning wildly. Dawn looked at the clock, it was ten minutes until class and students would start coming in soon. She whistled innocently and walked up to her seat, sitting down to patiently await her new friends. Her whistling faltered then stopped completely as she watched blood start to pool around Stein's head.

"I seriously doubt he is waking up anytime soon." Dawn mused aloud.

The young meister skipped back down the steps, her whistle returning as she snatched a piece of paper off his desk then grabbed a pen and began scribbling a note. Once finished, she left the classroom, closing the door behind her and taping on the note that said,

"Class cancelled. Dissection is progress. Have a nice day off students. ~Stein."

"Nobody will be going in there." Dawn stated proudly, walking away down the hall to find her friends.

In the Death room…

Lord Death watched as Dawn taped the note to the door then walked away before turning off his mirror.

"Interesting." He drawled. "When Stein wakes up I will get him working on why his soul force attack failed to injure Dawn."

"Yes, because that is what we should be worrying about and not the three star professor passed out and bleeding on the ground." Spirit spoke up sarcastically from behind Lord Death, having just entered the room.

"Oh he'll be fine." Death said, waving it off with his giant hand. "So, what brings you here Spirit?"

"There have been some disturbances involving kishin eggs. The madness is waking up dormant ones and causing others to become overly active. Currently there are three areas being greatly impacted and multiple more are being reported to have increased activity."

"Hmm. Perhaps we should send some students to take care of these disturbances before they get out of control."

"Of course sir but…"

"But what Spirit?"

"One is an abnormally strong kishin egg. I was thinking it might be best if Stein and I go instead of any of the students."

"I appreciate your concern Spirit but I don't think it is necessary."

"So who will you send?"

"Well Kid obviously."

"But you can't send him alone. You know even better than I do how he can get if you know what comes up in a battle which is almost always does."

"Indeed I do, but I did not say I was sending him alone did I?"

Spirit looked completely confused.

"Then who will you send him with? That crazy assassin Blackstar?

"Nope."

"Maka?"

"Nope."

"Then who?"

"Well I was thinking I would send Dawn with him. Then Maka and Blackstar can go to the other two locations."

"The new girl? What can she do?" Spirit asked disbelievingly.

"Oh you'd be surprised." Death stated, a grin clearly audible in his voice.

"Surprise me then."

"Well she is not as weak as you suspect. Besides, she pulled Kid out of a symmetry breakdown yesterday. Granted she kicked him over and yelled at him but it worked none the less."

"She did what?"

"She managed to get Kid out of a symmetry…"

"No, no, no. I heard what you said." Spirit interrupted Lord Death, earning himself a glare from the reaper.

"Then why did you ask what she did?"

"I was just, uh Nevermind! I'm going to Chupakabra's. Do whatever you want." Spirit mumbled, throwing up his hands in defeat and walking away.

"Okay! You have fun now!" Lord Death called cheerfully.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever."

Back in the hall outside class crescent moon…

Dawn walked down the hallway, expertly weaving through the hoard of slow moving students, searching for a familiar face. It didn't take long for Dawn to spot one of her friends waiting patiently, not far from the classroom, for class to begin.

"Hey Maka." Dawn grinned when the girl physically jumped at the sound of her voice.

"Oh hey Dawn." Maka laughed slightly. "I didn't see you there."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to sneak up on you."

"Nah, it's okay."

"Do you want to go hang out?"

Maka looked stunned and failed to answer Dawn's question for a few minutes as they watched each other silently. Maka was in complete shock, and Dawn was just plain confused.

"What's the matter Maka?"

"Are you planning on skipping class?"

Dawn sighed, "Maka maybe you should go look at what it says on the classroom door."

Maka looked towards the classroom only to see the door shut and a group of mumbling students gathered around the entrance. She walked around the weapon-less meister and made her way slowly over to the door, pushing through the group of studentsproving to be a difficult task for her. At one point another student stepped on Maka's coat, the material nearly ripping with the next step she took. Finally she made her way to the door to find the note on it that stated classes were cancelled. Sighing, the young scythe meister trudged back through the crowd. When she made it back to Dawn, she found the girl absentmindedly twirling a loose golden hair around her finger.

"Thanks but no thanks. I'm going to go and start studying early for tomorrow's quiz. Why don't you see if anyone else wants to hang out or something?"

"Sure. Go do this thing you call studying." Dawn said, waving it off.

"You don't study?"

"Nope."

"Not at all?" Maka sounded shocked.

"Nada."

"Aren't you afraid of failing?"

"Failing? I'm sorry, that word is not in my vocabulary." Dawn said jokingly.

Maka just smiled and laughed, waving her goodbye as she started walking home. Dawn waved back and once Maka was out of her eyesight, she left to go find someone else. Soon after, she saw the familiar sight of two nearly identically dressed yet not so similar twin weapons. Dawn practically skipped over to the Thompson sisters.

"Hey Liz, Patty." Dawn greeted them when she came up behind the two. "Guess what. I think I've got my soul wavelength control down finally."

"Oh. Hey Dawn. That's great." Liz said distractedly.

"What's going on?"

"Why don't you see for yourself." Liz pointed a few feet in front of her.

Dawn looked to where Liz was pointing to see Kid holding a piece of paper in his shaking hand, eye twitching and looking about ready to violently kill someone. She walked over to him and took a peek at what was on the paper only to groan, annoyed. It was covered in nothing but sevens. In the corner was a large recognizable signature.

"Blackstar." Dawn growled lowly.

She snatched the paper from the young reaper, crumpling and tearing it up in front of his face. The wrinkled pieces drifted slowly and silently to the floor. Then Dawn walked up to the assassin and laid a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey Blackstar." She managed to say cheerfully.

"Oh hey Dawn. What do you want?"

"Nothing."

A flash of purple sparks later, Blackstar was lying on the ground, a trickle of blood coming from the corner of his mouth. He gave the occasional twitch but otherwise was entirely still.

"Oops my bad." Dawn said, faking innocence. "Sorry Blackstar. You know, my wavelength is just so difficult to control sometimes. Maybe that should be something you think about the next time you feel like pulling another stupid stunt."

"Didn't you just say you got it under control?" Patty asked curiously.

Dawn brought one finger up in front of her lips in a shushing motion before winking and walking away.

"She's something different alright." Kid mused aloud.

"You can say that again." Liz added, grinning beside her meister.

"Please don't." Blackstar mumbled from the ground. "The noise hurts my ears."

At this, everyone nearby started laughing.

"Ow." Blackstar moaned. "I hate being reduced to this."

**Author's Note: Yay! Finally got this one done. So, if you missed it, Stein forgot him and Dawn's little "altercation" when she was younger cause he hit his head so hard. Maybe he will forget this one too. Yeah and only Justin, Lord Death, Stein, Sid, and the main groups of meister/weapon pairs know about Dawn being the DSM. **

*****Please review. They help me write better stories for you.*****

_Review Q: Any predictions as to why Stein's soul force didn't actually hurt Dawn. Or why it 'tickled' her._


	10. 9: The DSM's first mission?

_**The DSM?**_

**A/N: So so sorry for the lack of updates. Hope this makes up for it. Also, Kid may seem a bit OOC (out of character) in this so I apologize beforehand but there really is a reason I promise! Oh and we get to see into his thoughts a bit :D So without further ado, here's the long awaited Chapter 9 of "The DSM?"**

**Chapter 9: The Death Scythe Meister's _First _Mission?**

"Death the Kid, Liz Thompson, Patty Thompson, and Dawn Law please report to the death room." Sid's voice boomed over the announcement system.

Blackstar had been in the middle of getting up off of the floor when the announcement came on and he cupped his hands over his ears.

"Why won't my ears stop ringing?" he grumbled miserably.

"It's all your fault." Patty giggled in her sing-song voice. "I guess Dawn doesn't like it when you upset Kid."

"No really?" I thought it was an honest accident." He retorted sarcastically.

"Wow she really hit ya good didn't she?"

"Patty come on!" Liz called impatiently.

"Coming!" Patty yelled before taking off without saying goodbye to Blackstar.

She skipped up to her sister and Kid who had started walking without her. Patty starting whistling and swinging her legs as she walked in a way that only she could. In fact, she was swinging her legs so high it appeared that she was attempting to do the can-can.

"It's a miracle you haven't kicked someone in the head yet." Kid mumbled.

As if on cue, some poor boy who wasn't quick enough to get out of Patty's way took one of her can-can kicks to the head. Patty just continued on her way though, completely unfazed by the now bleeding boy on the ground.

"Ugh I spoke too soon."

The group only made it a few more feet before Patty abruptly stopped as her eyes widened and it looked like she had finally realized just what it was she had done. As quickly as her moment came it vanished and she continued down the hallway, Liz and Kid following after recovering from their confusion.

"Um Patty? What was that?" Liz asked her sister cautiously.

"Oh! I was just remembering what Sid said."

"You mean when he told us to report to the death room?"

"Yeah?"

"What did he say that you were thinking about?"

"Well I was wondering why he called Dawn down too. I mean, she doesn't have a weapon partner right?"

"No, she doesn't." Kid answered for Liz.

"Then maybe it's not a mission?" Liz suggested although it sounded more like a question.

"Somehow, I doubt that." He muttered as they made it to the entrance of the death room.

Once the three made it to the end of the hallway they found Lord Death standing there alone with his back to them. Apparently though, he heard them enter because he turned around to face them.

"Hiya kids!"

"Hello Lord Death." Both Patty and Liz greeted him respectfully.

Kid followed suit with a polite nod and, "Hello father."

Lord Death tilted his head to one side as he looked at the children.

"Where is Dawn? I thought she would be with you three."

"Why would you think…"

"She went home!" Patty yelled, interrupting Kid's question.

"Oh, okay then." Death nodded.

"Well why would she go home? It's a school day." Liz asked, beyond confused.

Lord Death turned to face his mirror, back to the kids before answering. "Stein is currently, unable to teach your class."

Patty grinned and jumped up and down. "Sweet! School's out!"

Patty, Liz and Kid watched as Death fogged the class on his own mirror then, with one large finger, he wrote the numbers 42 42 376.

"42 42 376?"

"Yes." Lord Death responded as the mirror started rippling. "It became evident a while ago that it would be a good idea to get Dawn a mirror with her own number so that I could contact her as easily as she could call me."

Exactly after he finished his explanation the rippling stopped and an image of Dawn's living room appeared. After a few more seconds, said girl walked in wearing baggy black sweatpants, a red t-shirt and white slippers. Her normally tied back blond hair fell down around her shoulders, reaching down to her waist. Then she seemed to notice the faces in her mirror because she shrieked in surprise and nearly dropped the glass of water she had been holding. Although Dawn seemed to recover swiftly as she set the glass on her coffee table then proceeded to kick her feet up beside it, leaning back onto her couch with her hands behind her head.

"Hey guys." She said cheerily.

"Hello Dawn." Kid nodded, letting a small smile find it's way onto his face.

No one else had time to greet her before Patty was right in front of the mirror, hands waving around frantically and words flying from her mouth at a seemingly inhuman speed.

"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh! Dawn that was so cool what you did to Blackstar! You should have seen him after you left. He kept trying to get up but he couldn't 'cause you got him sooo good!"

Patty started making little punching motions as she continued.

"He didn't even see it coming! Then he was all like…" she began pretending to twitch.

"Patty…" Dawn drawled, face palming. Then she turned to Lord Death and simply tuned Patty out. "So, what-cha call for Death?"

Kid was surprised at how easily Dawn could talk so casually with his father. Most academy students spoke to him in a strictly professional manner. They wouldn't dare use such slang words and rarely would they drop the "Lord" title. Then again, Dawn wasn't exactly the standard academy student. Plus, his father even seemed to enjoy that she spoke to him in such a calm, laidback manner.

"Well I was wondering if you would like to accompany Kiddo, Patty, and Liz to investigate a kishin egg disturbance."

Dawn's eyes widened as she took her feet off the table in order to lean forward on the couch.

"Y-you actually want me," she pointed to herself for emphasis, "to go on a… a… mission?"

Kid didn't miss her shocked, disbelieving tone. It confused him though, had his father never sent her a mission until now? Surely he understood the need for her to practice fighting outside of the academy. Especially for someone with her abilities and risk of being attacked should anyone from outside the DWMA find out who she is.

"Of course!"

A wide joyous grin grew on Dawn's face as she practically leapt off the couch. "I'll be there A.S.A.P!" she said happily before giving a mock salute and giggling as she walked off to get changed.

"What's A.S.A.P. mean?" Patty asked, turning to Liz as the connection was cut.

Liz rolled her eyes. "It means as soon as possible."

"Oh…."

Within a few minutes Dawn walked into the death room in her normal attire only now instead of putting her hair into it's usual braid, it was up in a ponytail.

"I didn't bother to take the time." She explained as she walked up to the rest, looking much more calm then earlier. "So," Dawn clapped her hands together eagerly, "Where are we off to?"

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"This place is a dump!" Liz complained as she poked at a bit of rubble with her boot.

Lord Death ended up sending the group to a small deserted town. It was so old that many of the buildings were crumbling to rubble, if they still stood at all.

"What would possibly be out here?"

"Hey sis." Patty interrupted, "Look at all those dark scary places made by the broken buildings. I wonder what could be in there."

Giggling, Patty skipped over to a dark alleyway between two buildings.

"Patty…" Liz whined while following her sister reluctantly. "You're scaring me."

Dawn rolled her eyes at the two and continued walking down the road, closely followed by Kid. She turned to look at the reaper with one eyebrow raised.

"You sure you should stray very far from your weapon partners while on a mission?"

He shrugged before responding, "They can handle themselves."

She looked at him skeptically.

"Well enough." He added. "Either way, I don't like the idea of you going off by yourself, in a strange area where a kishin egg is most likely hiding."

Her eyes narrowed slightly and Kid quickly realized why.

"Not that I don't think you can handle it. It's just that if we get split up, it's best to be split into pairs so no one is left alone. It's not like…"

Dawn started laughing lightly. "I'm just messing with ya Kid, relax. Now let's go find that kishin egg hmm?"

Both students walked through the ruined streets silently. After a few minutes Kid could no longer take not knowing if this was in fact her first mission. He cleared his throat to get her attention before asking.

"Hey Dawn?"

"Hmm?"

"Is this your first actual mission?"

"Yeah." She sighed.

"But, my father should see the importance in you gaining experience!" he exclaimed.

"I'm sure he does Kid. However there is still some other factor that has been preventing him from sending me on missions." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "I believe the only reason he even let me go today is because you would be here as well."

He looked at her oddly, obviously confused.

"Oh come on Kid. This is one little kishin egg disturbance. I've no doubt that whatever may be here, you could handle it on your own. The only reason I am allowed to be here is because nothing is probably going to happen anyway." She finished with a dejected sigh.

"Hey, don't worry Dawn." Kid said placing a hand on her shoulder. "You'll get a chance to practice outside of the classroom. I'll make sure of it."

"Thanks Kid."

Just then a long high pitched scream filled the air. Both meister's eyes widened as their heads whipped to the direction the scream came from before turning to each other as they realized whose it was.

"Liz!" they both exclaimed, startled as they tore off in the girl's direction, the small blades that now stuck out of the ground where they had just been standing going unnoticed.

As the two burst into the alleyway that they had last seen Patty heading towards with her sister following, they found Liz curled into a fetal position on the ground with Patty standing over her. Patty's hands were on her hips as she lent over her sister, laughing hysterically.

"Patty!" Kid yelled angrily, obviously far from happy with the situation. "What's going on?"

"Oh hey Kid! Liz saw a spider!" Patty giggled.

Kid groaned as Liz continued to rock back and forth on her heels. She started mumbling unintelligibly to herself.

"You grew up on the streets, and you're afraid of a spider?" Dawn breathed.

"They're scary." Liz whimpered.

As Dawn and Kid attempted to raise Liz from her spot on the ground, neither noticed Patty slip away deeper down the alley until…

"Hey there mister. Yer kinda funny looking."

Dawn was the first to turn at the sound of the girl's voice. Standing in front of Patty was a tall skinny man but that was not what caught Dawn's attention. Every feature off his body was completely straight, he looked sickly pale and his eyes were glazed over. What was left of his torn and tattered suit was caked with dirt. However what caused Dawn to sputter some odd surprised sound and yank Patty away from the man, towards herself, Kid, and Liz, was the fact that sharp blades stuck out in lines that formed down his arms and legs. Even smaller ones stuck out from where his nails should have been on both his hands and feet.

Once she had pulled Patty away, the man's focus shifted to her instead. His head tilted to the side quizzically, his neck emitting an awful 'crack' as he did so, before he grinned maniacally. Not surprisingly, his teeth were unnaturally long and razor sharp.

"Power…" he growled in a voice that strongly resembled nails on a chalkboard.

Dawn winced, a shiver running down her spine at the sound. The man reached towards her slowly and she took a few steps back, dragging her and Patty back in line with Kid and Liz.

"Power…" he growled again, raising his voice.

"I don't think I even want to look." Liz whimpered, not lifting her head from her knees.

"Liz, Patty." Kid said firmly.

"Right!"

"Ok…"

Both girls complied, turning into weapon form. The man proved to be much quicker than he seemed at first because he swiped his hand, resulting in a blade from one of his fingers flying forward and hitting Liz in her weapon form. Just before she would have landed in Kid's hand. The momentum flung her backwards before she clattered to the ground. Liz turned back to her human form, the knife appearing lodged in her forearm. Taking one look at the blood flowing from her wound, she passed out instantly.

"Nighty night sis." Patty giggled from her spot in Kid's hand.

Said reaper was staring from the weapon in his hand to the one lying a few feet behind him. Dawn just stood watching him, hoping that he wouldn't have an 'episode' right now but knowing it was probably going to happen anyway. She was so concerned with what Kid would do next that she hadn't realized her back was turned to the strange man. She only saw it once the but of the knife had collided with Kid's temple and he slumped to the ground, unconscious. Swiftly, she turned to face the man, causing the blade meant for her neck to slice into her shoulder instead then drop to the ground because it was only the side of the blade that struck her.

For someone who seemed to have great aim, he sure didn't appear to have much control over which end of the blade hit his target. Although Dawn didn't mind because, had the tip of the blade hit Kid in the side of his head, it would most likely have caused him brain damage. She quickly closed the gap between herself and the man before jamming her palm into the man's exposed stomach and letting loose a sharp wave of her soul force attack. He was sent flying a few feet and his feet gave out from under him. It didn't take him very long to get back up on shaky legs. He growled before forcing the knives on his body to rearrange themselves, more appearing as well, in order to cover his entire body at even intervals, not giving her enough room for her palm to fit. There was no way she was getting in a soul force attack now, not without being guaranteed a knife through her hand, and that was all she really had!

"Damn it!" she groaned.

He only growled again in response and began throwing blades every which way in her direction. She shrieked and dodged as many as she could while making her way towards the closest piece of fallen rubble for cover. By the time she made it there two more blades had struck her, one in her thigh, the other in her midsection. Cursing, she pulled the knives out.

"Might as well try." She mumbled before quickly popping up above the rubble and throwing them at the unrecognizable man.

However they both simply hit the blades already sticking out of his body. Her time out of cover cost her as another knife caught her cheek and she fell backwards, hitting her head off a piece of metal. Black spots started interrupting Dawn's vision and she knew she was about to pass out. She looked over to see Liz lying unconscious, Kid on the ground beside her, and Patty still resting in Kid's hand in weapon form saying something about everyone going to sleep. In her last comprehendible moments, Dawn heard the roar of a powerful engine and the faint strains of distant sounding rock music. She smiled to herself as she blacked out completely knowing everything was going to be just fine.

**Author's Note: Oh my gosh it's finally finished! I think it's safe to assume we all know who showed up right? ;)**

**I would like to thank all of the wonderful people who have either favourited, subscribed to, or reviewed this story! **

**Anach3403, animefreakiscool, CeleneTheMoonGoddess, Lost-in-all-Illusions, Shaded Moon Alchemist, Slyshindi, Aubrey09, Dragonet-Dialga123, kititi24, knitter8, MasouPanchi, mcoyne, and my buddy Sydney.**

**You guys rock and I solemnly promise to never konk out like that on updates again. But I hope this chapter makes up for it a little. Plus, I'm not sure where exactly Dawn and Kid's relationship is going so let me know what you would like to see and it shall happen! (as long as I can fit it in).**

**Reviews make my day! Just saying…**


	11. 10: Déja Vu

_**The DSM?**_

**Chapter 10: Déja Vu**

Dawn opened her eye to unfamiliar surroundings. She bolted upright, panicking. Then she remembered the previous events of that day, but she had passed out in a crumbling town. How did she get here? Where even was here? Looking around, she finally realized where she was. And that this place wasn't in fact unfamiliar but instead simply a place she had not been in a very, very long time.

"The gallows mansion huh? Wonder why I'm here."

She pushed herself up off the bed she had been on and looked down at herself. Instead of her usual blank tank top and light blue shorts, she was wearing a sleeveless red midriff top and dark blue denim shorts that stuck out a bit at the sides. These were… Patty's clothes? So someone had changed her outfit. Dawn sincerely hoped it had been either Liz or Patty who did. She would probably die of embarrassment if Kid was the one who had to change her. Continuing her search, she found her one thigh and exposed stomach wrapped in bandages. A quick trip to the mirror on the other side of the room confirmed that her cheek had been bandaged as well. The door opened and Dawn turned to see Liz enter the room.

"Oh hey you're up."

"Yep. But, why am I wearing Patty's clothes?"

"Well yours were all bloody and your shirt had a big tear from the knife so Patty got you into some of her clothes and I'm washing yours. They're almost done and the shower's that way if you want to wash up." She said, pointing to a door across the room.

"Thanks Liz. When did you come to anyway?"

"Sometime not long after Justin showed up. I've never seen him loose his calm attitude like when he saw you on the ground. It nearly made me feel bad for the weirdo with the knives. Nearly being the key word."

Dawn laughed. "He was pissed wasn't he?"

"That doesn't even begin to describe it! Had the man had even one second to react, I'm willing to bet he would have ran screaming and crying like a terrified little girl!"

"I'm sure he would have but that's to be expected."

"Huh? You're not even the least bit surprised?"

She just scoffed. "Of course not! I know my brother Liz, he's caring, protective, tough, obviously addicted to music, and an occasional jokester. But one thing he isn't, is a wuss. It doesn't matter who it is, if anyone hurts someone he cares about, he'll kick their ass no questions asked."

"I'll take your word on that." Liz laughed before leaving.

Dawn chuckled and decided to take a shower. Once she was finished, she stepped out to find her clothes cleaned, stitched up, and folded neatly beside the sink. She slipped into them and attempted to dry her hair in a towel. Dropping the towel in the hamper, she walked back into the bedroom and left her still damp hair down for it to dry fully.

"Might as well go find the others now."

Leaving the room, she peered down both ends of the hallway.

"Hmm I don't remember it being so consistent, exact and quite frankly… symmetrical." She mused aloud. "Death must have had the place redecorated once Kid became obsessed with symmetry. I wonder when that started anyway."

She decided on going left but quickly got lost. The halls were all the same! Soon, she found herself back outside of the guest room.

"Damn this sucks."

"Dawn?"

Kid was standing behind her with one eyebrow raised and an amused smile on his face.

"Are you lost?"

"Pfft, no. Of course no-" she looked up from her feet to his face as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Okay yeah I am." She mumbled sheepishly.

He simply laughed in response.

"Were you… following me?"

"For a little while." He admitted with a shrug.

"That's not creepy at all." Dawn joked sarcastically.

Kid laughed again, finding it interesting how he seemed to laugh so easily around her. In fact, he was fairly sure that he had laughed more since Dawn returned to Death City than he had in the rest of his life.

"Come on, I'll show you the way to the main living area."

"Thanks. This place is like a maze." She giggled before following him.

Arriving in the kitchen, they found Liz carrying in a pizza box with Patty following behind her like a lost puppy, with wide eyes to match. Both Dawn and Kid were obviously confused but Kid spoke first.

"Uh… Liz? What's with the…"

"Pizza?" she finished for him, dropping the pizza box on the counter. "You do realize it's like, nine o' clock at night right?"

"Really?"

"Yeah, you two have been out for quite a few hours."

"Liz!" Patty whined, "I wanna eat now!"

"Ok ok hang on." She chuckled, opening the box and putting a few pieces on a plate for her sister. Then she turned to the two meisters. "I just got a plain cheese pizza."

"She didn't want to put up with the reaction she normally gets when she has to ask for the people to put all of the toppings on symmetrically." Patty giggled while skipping out of the room with her pizza.

"Help yourselves to the pizza."

Liz grabbed herself a couple pieces then followed her sister out of the room.

"After all, I bought it with Kid's money. Dang spoiled rich kid can spare a few bucks." She grinned teasingly.

By the time they had all finished eating it was just past ten o' clock.

"Pwease pwease pwease!" Patty begged, staring up a her sister with her hands clasped tight.

"I'm not sure Patty, you'll have to get the ok from Dawn and Kid."

"Why?" she pouted.

"Because this is Kid's house and Dawn has her own that she has to get back to."

"But I wanna play a game with everyone!"

"Well then go ask them!"

"Ok!" Patty's tone immediately switched from whining to excitement.

She skipped her way to the kitchen where Dawn and Kid were cleaning the dishes.

Meanwhile…

"You know," Dawn sighed after drying the last dish and proceeding to push away some of the hair on the side of Kid's head to reveal the large blue-purple bruise that the knife had left. "I never would have accepted your offer to make sure I got a chance to fight if I had known you would have been hurt in the process."

Kid shrugged it off. "It's nothing."

"Kid, if it was nothing than there wouldn't be a large bruise and you wouldn't have passed out."

Dawn dropped her hand and looked down at her feet sighing.

"Can you just try to be a little less of an easy target next time a symmetry problem comes up? I'm not asking you to get completely over it, but if you could just defend yourself… I don't want to think of what would have happened if that knife had hit you with it's point or even just the blade."

"Dawn…" Kid began but she interrupted him.

"No Kid." She said sternly, her pitch raising slightly. "You're my friend and I don't want to wake up one morning and be told you got killed because you were too busy focusing on the symmetry of something or lack thereof."

"Dawn!" he gripped her shoulders and made her face him, effectively stopping her rant. "I won't let it happen ok? I promise you that I will be more careful about these things, I will try."

Dawn just stared at him, searching for any sign of deceit, any indication that he might just be telling her what she wanted to hear, but found none. All she saw was complete and honest seriousness. Neither of them could tell how long they just stared at each other until…

"Hey guys?" Patty burst into the room.

"Yeah Patty?" Dawn asked. She quickly took her gaze away from Kid, much to his dismay.

"Do you guys wanna play a game?"

"I'm not sure Patty, I have to leave soon if I want to get home in time to get enough sleep and get to school at the right time."

"You can spend the night here." Kid blurted out. "I mean, the guest room if always open for any of our friends and we don't want you walking around by yourself this late at night now do we?"

"Nope of course not!" Patty squealed at the idea. "Oh please, please, please Dawn?"

"Sure, I don't see anything wrong with it…"

"Yay!" Patty ran out of the room. "Come on let's play a game!"

Both meisters followed Patty out of the room at a slower pace, their faces emotionless and eyes staring uninterestedly at their own feet.

"I… I'm sorry if I scared you Dawn."

"You didn't." she mumbled. "It was the possibility of what could have happened that scared me."

"Well then I'm sorry for allowing that possibility to exist. I can promise you that it won't happen again."

"I just don't wan to see you get hurt Kid."

"Nor I you."

They entered the room where Liz was sitting down and Patty was digging through a cabinet that contained an assortment of games, it appeared.

"Uh, you want to play monopoly?" Liz asked Patty.

"No sis. I told you, I'm finding one."

"Okay, whatever you say Patty."

Dawn and Kid sat down by Liz as Patty continued to shift through the cabinet. Kid cringed every time a box was thrown carelessly out onto the floor but otherwise stayed quiet.

"Here it is!" she giggled, yanking out an old white box with plain red lettering on the top lid.

"Really Patty? Twister?" Dawn asked skeptically.

"Well if you don't want…"

"No no twister is fine!" Liz interrupted hurriedly. "You three play, I'll spin!"

Kid and Dawn exchanged wary glances, resulting in them both missing the mischievous grin on Liz's face. Patty was completely oblivious as she laughed and began spreading out the mat. The game started out fairly normal before Liz spun Patty an impossible move. Dawn could've sworn she saw Liz purposely stop the spinner on a colour that Patty could not possibly reach. Narrowing her eyes, she watched as Liz's 'a little too innocent' grin grew slightly as Patty got off of the mat and just herself and Kid were left. It was a few more turns until Liz's true intentions were revealed as she called out, "Dawn, right hand on red." without even looking at the spinner.

Dawn didn't notice though as she moved so that she could put her right hand on one of the red circles on the mat. She only just realized what Liz had manipulated her into doing when she looked up, right into Kid's startled face. After recovering from their initial shock at the position they were in, Kid overtop of Dawn, they simultaneously narrowed their eyes accusingly and turned to face Liz. Said weapon was now literally rolling on the floor laughing and trying to keep in the hysterical tears that threatened to slide down her face. Dawn rolled out from under Kid, then they both stood up and walked over to loom over the girl who reduced herself to chuckling but went completely silent as she caught sight of the two people leaning over her.

"H-hey guys, it was j-just a joke…"

"Oh really?" Dawn set her hands on her hips.

"Y-yeah."

"Is that so?" Kid crossed his arms over his chest.

Liz began slowly backing up on the floor, scared. She knew she ticked them off with her little stunt. No one messed with Kid or Dawn and got away with it. She probably should have thought about that before messing with both of them at the same time but it had seemed like such a good idea at the moment. She was sure she was going to pay for it, when Dawn surprised her.

"Oh well in that case let's leave the poor girl alone then. Come on Kid." She said, leading a very confused Kid out of the room.

"What was that about?"

"We'll get her back. We just need to go about this the right way." Dawn responded while a sly grin spread it's way onto her face.

"Oh, I see."

The two spent the next little while sitting in Kid's room planning how they would get back at Liz. A high pitched ringing interrupted their plotting as they turned to the mirror on the far side of the room.

"Hiya Kiddo! I was just- oh hey Dawn! I didn't expect to see you here. How did the mission go you two?"

"Justin hasn't told you?" Dawn asked.

"Told me what?"

"Uh, nothing." She mumbled, and pretended to occupy herself with the papers that her and Kid had been using to plan their revenge. This ended with her inadvertently turning her bandaged cheek directly into Death's view.

"Dawn. What happened?" he said seriously in his deep original voice, all joking tones gone from him.

"I was unable to get close to him so my abilities were rendered absolutely useless." Dawn muttered in a nearly inaudible voice.

Lord Death then turned to Kid, who just looked down at his feet in shame.

"Symmetry…"

He sighed with an, "I'll see what I can do." Before cutting the connection.

"So, why did my father use his original voice so quickly with you?" Kid asked.

"He always does that when I avoid his questions. At least the important ones. He knows it's the only way to get me to answer him."

Kid nodded.

Dawn laughed and continued with a small reminiscent smile on her face.

"Heck, sometimes as a kid, I'd avoid his questions on purpose just to hear him talk like he used to. Cause I'm sure you remember that he still used that voice when he saved me and Justin. As he started getting more and more used to having to talk like that more often, he started greeting me with that voice when he would teach me the basics for controlling my soul wavelength via mirror. Quite frankly, it scared the shit outta me the first few times."

They both had a bit of a laugh at the idea of a child being scared of Lord Death's 'child friendly' tone as opposed to his original voice.

"What I wouldn't give to see that." Kid chuckled.

"You could." Dawn said between giggles. "I remember one time, I answered and he yelled 'Hiya Dawn!' in that goofy voice of his and I swear I had a heart attack! When I finally got up off the floor, I noticed that he had been holding a video camera!"

"I might just have to go see if I can find that then."

"Well let me know if you do."

"You want to see it too?"

"Are you kidding? I wanna be there to jump in front of the screen and yell 'Access denied!'"

The two stayed up for a little bit longer before Dawn left for the guest room. Once inside she fell down onto the bed lazily and just stared up at the ceiling for a while.

"Today was such a long day." She sighed to herself. "But I missed this place so much. The familiarity, the atmosphere…" her words starting drifting off and became quieter as her eyes started closing from exhaustion. "the people…" Dawn breathed out with a tired smirk just before she fell asleep.

**Author's Note: Wow, eight pages in Microsoft word -.- So this one was kinda more of a fluffy filler chapter. Not much going on in the way of the main plot. I don't know if they really have monopoly or twister in death city but for the sake of this chapter let's say they do ;) Also, I noticed I didn't do a Review Q on the last one, so here are two! **

_Review Q's: How do you think Dawn and Kid will get back at Liz?  
><em>_What might Death be planning to do to help them?_


	12. 11: Drama King

_**The DSM?**_

**Chapter 11: Drama King**

"Dawn…" a high pitched sing song voice interrupted Dawn's dreaming. "Dawn…"

Dawn rolled over lazily, remaining asleep.

"DAWN!" the voice harshly yelled.

She shrieked and was up in a second, backing up against the headboard with one hand raised in defense, memories of being slapped awake flooding her mind. Dawn started to relax however, once her mind started emerging from it's sleepy haze and she remembered she was safe. Safe in the gallows mansion guest room with Patty staring at her quizzically from the end of the bed.

"Silly Dawn." Patty giggled. "It's time to go to school now."

Just then Kid and Liz burst into the room.

"What's wrong, what's going on?" Liz asked frantically.

Kid looked from Patty over to Dawn who was still pressed against the headboard, hand raised, shaking and breathing slightly heavier than normal.

"Are you okay? What happened?" he asked while walking over to sit beside her.

"I-I'm fine. Patty just s-startled me."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Now we should be getting to school shouldn't we?"

Dawn got up and pulled her red hair-band off her wrist. Running her fingers through the length of her hair, she began to braid it as Patty, Liz and Kid left for the kitchen. Once she was finished she headed for the kitchen as well, silently praising herself for remembering the way and not getting lost for the second day in a row. Entering the kitchen, Dawn sat down with the three and had breakfast before they all left for the academy. The four students arrived at the school mere minutes before classes were scheduled to start.

"You two go on ahead, Dawn and I have to report to my father." Kid simply glanced at his weapon partners before heading towards the death room with Dawn following closely.

"Okay bye! See you in class!" Patty yelled after them.

"You want to talk about this morning?" Kid asked Dawn quietly.

She shook her head.

"I can respect that." He said although he had really been hoping she'd tell him what had happened.

"Thanks Kid."

"You're welcome."

Both stayed silent until they reached the stage in front of Lord Death's mirror but he was nowhere to be seen.

"Father?"

"Heya Death? You here?"

Their calls were met with complete silence.

"I wonder where he could be…" Dawn wondered aloud.

"Indeed, it's not often that he leaves the death room while in the academy."

"Well while we're here I need to check on my brother." She said walking up to Lord Death's mirror.

"Are you really going to-" Kid started, shocked.

She fogged up the mirror and wrote in '42 42 376'.

"Are you sure it's ok? I mean, this is my dad's personal-"

"Aw shush Kid. I'm sure it's fine. I'm just making one call. It's not like he's storing some kind of super secret files in here… wait is that even possible?"

Kid shrugged. "I really have no clue."

"Oh…. Well even if he was, I wouldn't be interested in that stuff anyway."

"You wouldn't?"

"Of course not! If Death is hiding anything, it must be for a good reason. I trust him to tell me things I need to or should know and to have good reasons for anything he withholds from me…" An idea seemed to cross her mind as her brows knitted together and she turned to face Kid fully. "…don't you?"

Kid was just about to respond when the mirror pinged and a view of Dawn's living room came into view. There, lying on the couch was Justin. He had his eyes closed and music blasting loudly out of his headphones as usual.

"Aww." Dawn cooed. "He fell asleep."

"How can he sleep with those things in?"

"That's Justin for ya." She giggled. "Although lately I've been taking it upon myself to take his Ipod while he's sleeping and charge it so it doesn't run out of battery during the day."

"Didn't you want to talk to him?"

"Yeah but I'll let him sleep. He's had too much to worry about lately."

Kid watched Dawn as she spoke, she was watching her brother fondly. He admired how easily she cared for others, putting them before herself. He was so lost in his own thoughts that he didn't hear the bell ring to signal the beginning of classes.

"Oh my gosh we're late!" Dawn squealed, cutting the connection from the mirror.

"Huh?"

"We're late!"

"So?"

Dawn gaped at Kid. "You… did you honestly just say that?"

"Yes, I believe I did."

"I never thought I'd see the day when Death the Kid wouldn't care about being late to class."

"Why… wait. What? We're late?"

Dawn nodded then they both ran from the room towards their class.

Meanwhile…

Stein was lying down on a bed in the school infirmary rubbing his head. He had no idea what happened but his head hurt, a lot. Nygus walked in holding a clipboard.

"Good to see you're up, do you have any idea how hard it was to wrap a bandage around that screw in your head?"

"Hmm..." he ignored her comment. "so what happened to me?"

"I'm not sure, I wasn't told. What I was told was that you were found in class crescent moon yesterday knocked out and bleeding on the floor. You must have been there for quite awhile because he lost a lot of blood."

Stein simply nodded as much as he could without multiplying the pain in his head.

"It also meant a lot of blood to clean up. The janitor's not too happy about that."

As if on cue, a loud male voice erupted from the hallway.

"I am so sick and tired of cleaning blood off of every damn surface in this…"

At that moment the bell rang, cutting off a string of rather nasty profanities unfit to be spoken in a school. It ended unfortunately and the janitor could be heard again.

"…excuse of a school! I've had enough of this!" he threw his hands up in the air dramatically. "I quit!" with that, he stormed out of the school.

"Oh…kay…" Nygus said awkwardly before leaving Stein alone again. "Note to self, hire a less melodramatic janitor." She mumbled.

"You can come in now, she's gone." Stein said, watching the doorway.

Lord Death walked in, large hands folded behind his back.

"You know what happened don't you?"

"Indeed. Perhaps I should explain."

Back in class…

Dawn and Kid skidded to a halt in front of the class door. They both quickly straightened their clothes and hair.

"Am I good?" Dawn asked, spreading her arms out.

"Yeah, you're good." Kid assured her.

"Good." She giggled. "So now that it's not so obvious that we've been running, we might as well get this over with."

Kid nodded and with that, they walked into the room prepared to have all eyes turn on them at the interruption to the class. Instead they were met with the sounds of laughter and chatting. The only sets of eyes that turned their way were those of their friends who must have been waiting for them to show up.

"Come on." Dawn said, grabbing Kid's hand and rushing them up to their seats.

"Nice of you to show up." Liz eyed them suspiciously. "And just why, may I ask, were you late?"

"Well you seem to have an idea Liz. Why don't you share?" Dawn asked innocently from beside Kid.

Liz ignored Dawn and rested her head on one hand, examining that nails on her other hand.

"Don't worry about her. She's just frustrated cause you two-" Patty was cut off as Liz clamped a hand over her mouth.

"Patty, I'm sure Dawn and Kid are much more interested as to why class hasn't started yet. Why don't you tell them?"

Patty nodded enthusiastically and her sister took her hand away slowly.

"No one has any idea where Stein went. A couple of kids suggested that he got sick, or ran out of animals to dissect and was going to start dissecting students, so Lord Death fired him. Either way, he's not here right now and personally, I think the guys who suggested he was going to dissect students is on to something…" near the end of her spiel Patty's voice drifted off and she started staring off into some random direction.

Dawn chuckled. "That's obviously not it Patty. Stein's crazy but he's not THAT crazy. At least not yet."

"Though I doubt he's far off. The kishin's madness is clearly effecting him although he tries to hide it." Kid added.

Tsubaki leaned down from her seat in the row above them.

"I wonder who our teacher is today."

"We'll see when they come in."

"But who could it be?" Maka asked, leaning forward as well.

"I have no idea Maka." Dawn responded. "No idea."

Another few minutes later Dawn watched as a man with shaggy red hair sauntered into the class. She turned around when she heard, "Oh man so not cool!" and saw Soul slouch and put his head in his hands.

"Hey! New girl!" the substitute teacher yelled. "Turn around and pay attention!"

Dawn's eye twitched as she turned back around to glare at him.

"Excuse me? Do you have no respect for others?"

"You're the one who needs to learn respect for your superiors! Now pay attention!"

"Just who do you think you are?" she asked, voice raising slightly.

"Relax Dawn." Kid put his hand on her shoulder. "He's just showing off for Maka. You know, playing the tough guy act."

"Wait." She said, eyes growing wide. "He's not… is he really… you DAD!" she exclaimed, turning backwards to face Maka.

"Unfortunately." She mumbled darkly.

"Well still, just who does he think he is to order me around like that? I have no problem with paying attention but what right does he have to speak to me in such a tone, acting teacher or otherwise?"

"Well he is Lord Death's death scythe…" Tsubaki added timidly.

"You gotta be kidding me! This show off is Death's weapon partner? How does he tolerate him?"

Patty giggled. "He doesn't. Spirit gets reaper chopped often."

"I would love to see that!" Dawn broke out into her own fit of giggles.

Class passed very slowly for Dawn. Spirit had simply assigned them some textbook work that Maka, Kid, and herself finished within the first five minutes. Dawn started tapping her fingers on the section of desk in front of her. Kid appeared to be watching her fingers although it was obvious to those around him that his head just happened to be turned in that direction and he was lost in thought while Maka sat and read a book as usual.

Groaning, Dawn folded her arms on the desk and rested her head in them. "That was way too easy."

Maka nodded in agreement, not having to look up from her book. Kid broke out of his thoughts long enough to nod as well. Then Soul scoffed from a few rows above them.

"Says Lord Death's little prodigies and the nerdy bookworm."

Maka's head dipped low and she shut her book slowly. "Maka…"

Soul realized what was happening a moment too late as the book collided with the top of his head.

"…Chop!"

"Ow…" he whimpered.

Maka went right back to reading her book as if nothing had ever happened. Liz didn't even seem to notice the scene and was twirling a few strands of her hair around her fingers. Kid noticed this and suddenly an idea struck him. He leaned over and whispered something to Dawn and as he continued, a devilish grin grew wider and wider across her face. Once he was finished she nodded excitedly.

"Let's do it."

Back with Lord Death and Stein…

"You want me to do what!"

Lord Death sighed, realizing how impossible it must sound.

"Do you even have any proof that it's possible?" Stein asked.

"No, I don't. As of right now it's just a theory of mine."

"And a crazy one at that."

"I want you to at least try. If I'm right then she should be able to both defend and attack better in a fight."

"And if you're wrong she could die." Stein stated coldly.

"I know, but I feel as if there's no other option."

"Oh and why do you think that?"

"Because she could die just as easily without this."

Stein sighed. "Fine. I'll try it."

Later that day…

Kid had invited Dawn to have supper at the mansion with himself, Liz, and Patty. In return, Dawn offered to make said meal but Kid insisted on helping her. Now the two of them were standing in the kitchen and the sisters were in the other room.

"So when do we put our plan into action?" Dawn whispered.

"It's ready to go right now. All we have to do is wait."

Both of their evil smirks disappeared as Liz entered the room.

"Hey Liz what's up?" Dawn asked innocently as she occupied herself with the food.

"I was wondering how much longer it will be until dinner is ready."

"Oh, ten, maybe fifteen minutes. Why?"

Liz shrugged and walked out of the room.

"I suppose she's still upset about something."

"Yeah, I wonder what it is that's bugging her." Kid agreed.

Not long later, they heard water running from one of the upstairs rooms. When it continued for a few minutes both meisters came to the unspoken conclusion that Liz had decided to take a shower.

"Well that was easy." Dawn giggled, her evil grin returning.

When the water shut off, it only took a few seconds before Liz's voice could be heard through the entire house.

"DAWN! KID!"

**Author's Note: My gosh this took forever to type. You can all thank my friend Sydney for getting my butt going on this. Anyway, hope you like it, please answer the review questions or leave any kind of comment or question of your own in the review box or PM me. Really, I'm not going to bother coming up with some creative way of asking you I just really need some feedback on this so I know what you like gosh darn it. If I don't know what you like, how am I supposed to add more into the story! Ok. I'm done ranting, here are the questions…**

_Review Q's: What do you think it is that Lord Death wants Stein to do?_

_ What was Liz so upset about at the end there?_

Hope to actually hear from some of you for once… -.-'

~Violetdawn00


	13. 12: Sense of Security

_**The DSM?**_

**Chapter 12: Sense of Security**

Liz came storming down the stairs and into the kitchen. She was dripping wet and had a towel wrapped around herself. It was very clear that she was pissed, if anything, pissed was an understatement.

"I can't believe you two stooped so low. This is one of the oldest pranks in the book!" she fumed.

Patty chose that moment to come skipping into the room. However she fumbled and dropped to the ground laughing at her sister's appearance.

"Y-you look funny… sis!" she said between bouts of laughter.

Dawn joined Patty in her laughing fit and Kid was trying incredibly hard not to join but was clearly having problems with his resolve. Soon, that resolve was completely gone and he was laughing with them, barely able to breathe.

"You think this is funny? Huh? Do you?" Liz yelled, holding out a lock of her frizzy lime green hair.

All three nodded and Dawn turned her face into Kid's shoulder, closed her eyes and furiously attempted to erase the image from her mind so that she could breathe once again. Patty was nearing the point of tears she was laughing so hard.

"What about you huh?" she turned to Kid. "What happened to all that symmetry junk? You suddenly forget about that?"

He shook his head. "You two already have different hair, what should I care if it's different in another way? Besides, you couldn't have actually expected us to let the twister incident go."

"Yeah well this is going to far!"

"Come on Liz. It's just a harmless prank."

"Harmless huh? I'll give you 'harmless'." She growled.

Dawn looked back up at Liz quizzically, wondering what she was going to do next.

"Patty…"

In that one word, both Kid and Dawn understood what she was going to do and they took off down the hall and out of the mansion.

"Get back here!" Liz yelled after them.

"Come on, you can stay at my place until Liz calms down." Dawn said when they got off the property.

The two of them continued running until they were just outside of her house before they stopped and leaned against the walls of the house to catch their breath. Just after they caught their breath, they lost it again to rounds of laughter.

**In the Death room…**

Lord Death stood at his mirror watching the scene unfold intently.

"I-is that even Kid?" Spirit spoke up from behind him. "It doesn't look like him at all."

"He does seem to act a little different around Dawn doesn't he?"

"A little?" Spirit was shocked. "He's like a whole different person!"

Lord Death chuckled, shaking his head. "No, not a whole different person. He used to be like that most of the time. Until he got his obsession that is."

"You're kidding me right? There was actually a time when Kid wasn't obsessed with symmetry?"

"Of course. No one is born with an obsession." Stein said as he entered the room.

Spirit shrieked and jumped so that he put Lord Death between himself and Stein. This resulted in him being in front of Lord Death, blocking the grim reaper's view of the mirror. Spirit clutched to the fabric of his cloak.

"W-what are y-you doing here?"

"I came to speak with Lord Death obviously, but I couldn't help but overhear your conversation there. Obsessions are gained through experiences and events that impact one's mental state. It is not possible to be born obsessed with anything." He responded emotionlessly.

"S-so you weren't born o-obsessed with dissect-ting things?"

"No." Stein grinned sadistically. "I also wasn't born crazy, that's just a bonus." He started turning the screw in his head, eyes locked on Spirit.

That's when he completely lost it. Spirit started panicking. His hands were shaking violently and he appeared to be only moments from passing out.

Lord Death had enough of his weapon acting like a child and reaper chopped him hard enough to make Spirit pass out quicker. He cut the connection on his mirror and stepped over the now unconscious death scythe to stand in front of Stein.

"You wished to talk to me?"

"Yes." Stein nodded, returning to his calm and indifferent state.

"What about exactly?"

"Your… theory."

Lord Death sighed. "Go on then."

The gallows mansion…

Liz stood in the entryway of the mansion, twirling Patty in her weapon form in her hand absentmindedly.

"Aren't we going after them sis?" Patty asked her sister after a few minutes of doing nothing.

Liz chuckled, her lips turning up into a smirk.

"No Patty. We are not going to chase them."

"Why not?"

"Because they fell for it."

Patty jumped away and turned back into her human form. She cocked her head to the side as she watched Liz closely.

"What do you mean sis?"

"I'm not actually mad."

"You're not?"

"Of course not! I can always wash the dye out and it was actually quite a good comeback on their part."

"So… you're going to leave them alone?"

"For now. I will get them back still though. Just not when or how they expect it." Her smirk grew.

"Oh, I think I get it." Patty giggled. "Like, that false sense of security thing?"

"Exactly like a false sense of security."

Outside of Dawn's house…

"That was hilarious!" Dawn giggled, pushing her self off of the wall of her house.

Kid laughed and did the same. "I don't think I've ever had this much fun!"

She shook her head, smiling. "Come on, you probably need a drink after a run like that. I know I do."

Dawn pulled out her house key and went to turn it in the lock. As soon as she touched the door, it creaked open effortlessly. Instantly, they both stopped laughing and were on edge, straining to hear or see something beyond the first few feet that were illuminated by the outside light. Everything was eerily silent however and no matter how much they tried they couldn't see anything. Dawn cautiously stepped forward to reach in the doorway and flick on the lights. When the entryway became illuminated, Dawn gasped and stepped back.

The house was completely trashed. Decorations, clothes, belongings, and even furniture lay broken and torn on every inch of the room. From what could be seen of the other rooms, they were the same as well.

"J-Justin?" Dawn called out cautiously. "Are you still here?"

She went to take a step back in the direction of the house but Kid put his arm out to stop her.

"Wait here. I'll go check it out."

Before she had time to protest he entered the house and left her standing outside. Only a minute later he came back out and locked the door behind him. He grabbed her hand and began pulling her down the road.

"K-Kid! What's going on?" Dawn jogged slightly to catch up with him and avoid tripping.

"Every room is torn apart and Justin isn't there."

"So where are we going?"

"To see my father."

The Death room…

"So based on my calculations, it's extremely difficult but it is in fact possible." Stein concluded.

"Well that's good. I think things are finally starting to take a turn for the better regarding this situation." Death said happily.

"Father!" Kid called as he and Dawn entered the room.

Dawn went to sit on the edge of the stage looking dazed and Stein left, his business done and, as usual, not wanting to stick around.

"Yeah Kiddo?" Death asked curiously.

"Someone trashed Dawn's apartment. There is absolutely nothing left intact."

Realization seemed to sink in as Dawn put her elbows on her knees and rested her head in her hands. She just sat there, not moving and it began to concern the two reapers.

"Do you think someone else found out?"

Death sighed. "It would seem that way wouldn't it? We may not be able to know for sure but I don't want to take the chance that someone is after her and leave her alone in that apartment."

The mirror behind him dinged and Maka's image appeared in a smaller square.

"Meister Maka reporting sir."

"Ah Maka! Just the meister I wanted to see! So, how'd it go?" Lord Death greeted her in his usual cheerful manner.

"Very well Lord Death. We've collected another kishin egg successfully."

"Well that's wonderful!" he said while bouncing up and down slightly. "Listen Maka, I have a favor to ask of you."

"Sure Lord Death." She smiled.

"Dawn needs a place to stay for a while. Would it be okay if she stayed with you and Soul?"

A concerned look crossed Maka's face. "Of course she can but what happened?"

"I'll tell you about it when you get here." Lord Death cut the connection before she could say anything further.

"But Father, Dawn could always stay at the mansion and-"

Death held up one of his hands to stop his son.

"Kid." He said seriously. " Remember what happened the last time you fought? I don't doubt your ability to help protect her but you get… 'distracted' far too easily. Maka and Soul can watch over her without these same distractions. You must see that she'd be more consistently safe with them."

Kid nodded solemnly.

"Besides, you two will still get to see each other at school." Death continued, smirking behind his mask.

Dawn seemed to finally snap out of her daze and looked up at Lord Death.

"Please tell me you know where Justin is."

"No need to worry Dawn. I sent him on a mission a few hours ago. He wasn't there when the place was attacked."

She breathed out a sigh of relief. Just then Maka walked into the death room with Soul behind her, hands casually in his jacket pockets.

"So what happened?" Maka asked right away.

"Dawn and Justin's apartment was ransacked. Now she needs a place to stay."

"But what about Justin?" Dawn asked.

"I'll find him a new place to stay but I fear you were the reason for someone searching the apartment. If so, then they probably know what you are. In that case, I do not think it would be a good idea to have you be on your own. And since Justin is often on missions, you should stay with someone who will be able to help watch over you."

Dawn gaped at Lord Death.

"You mean… like they're going to BABYSIT me?"

"Aw man, babysitting duty is so not cool."

Maka hit Soul on the back of the head.

"We'd be happy to have Dawn stay with us for awhile." Maka said, smiling sweetly.

"Great!" Death cheered ecstatically. "Now all you need to do is see if there is anything you can salvage from Dawn's place."

"Sure thing Lord Death."

Soul and Maka left the death room with Dawn following behind them reluctantly. Not long later, Kid left for the mansion and Lord Death was alone to his thoughts.

"I hope soul projection works. If it doesn't, then I may have to do the impossible and find a weapon that can withstand Dawn's large erratic wavelength as a permanent partner or worse… plan a funeral."

Images of the young blond girl both running around the mansion with his son as toddlers and practicing as she grew up under his training flashed through his mind and dissolved into one's of the saddened faces of those now considered her friends and family at a funeral that very well end up happening because of the possibility of her imminent death. All because of something he thought up.

"No." he told himself aloud. "It's her best chance. Her best shot at being able to take care of herself. She can't stay hidden forever, today's events prove that. Sooner or later her secret will be out and she needs to be prepared to defend herself because there won't always be someone around to protect her."

**Author's Note:** **So I know it's been a long time since I've updated but I have had much to do. Anyway, I don't have much to say this time except for the following extremely important note…..**

_*****NOTICE***YOU NEED TO READ IT*****_

I will no longer be neglecting my other story ideas in favor of this one! This means that I will be posting my other stories and the order in which they get updated will depend on the feedback they get. (The story that gets the most reviews, favs and subscriptions will be updated first and so on)

Also, I will wait for a minimum of five reviews before I update. I don't think it's much to ask for considering I have at least 15 separate people who have either favourited or subscribed to this story. I will not update unless I get feedback cause if people aren't interested in it enough to review, then why should I be bothered to neglect other stories which more people are interested in?

**Thank you for reading,**

** Sincerely, _Violetdawn00_**


	14. 13: Moving In

_**The DSM?**_

**Chapter 13: Moving In**

Soul, Dawn and Maka walked silently down the street to Dawn's apartment. Maka was just excited at the prospect of having a decent house guest while the other two were still upset about the babysitting arrangement.

"Come on. I don't want to be stuck on babysitting duty!" Soul complained.

"You think you've got it bad? Try being the one who's getting 'babysat'."

"Will you two be quiet?"

They both dropped to the ground as books collided with the tops of their heads.

"Ow."

"What was that for?" Soul grumbled and rubbed his head.

"Stop being so negative about this."

Dawn chuckled as she pulled herself off of the ground and dusted herself off.

"Maka's right. There's nothing we can do about it, so why complain?"

"That's the spirit!" Maka cheered.

Dawn and Maka helped Soul up and the trio continued on their way as if nothing had happened. It took them only a few more minutes to reach the apartment Dawns had been staying at. Dawn's breathing picked up slightly as they walked up the pathway. Maka gave her a reassuring nod and smile then the three stepped into the house and looked around. Soul whistled lowly as he scanned what used to be the entryway.

"Wow. Whoever it was really did a number on this place."

Dawn walked ahead of the two and behind her back, Maka sent Soul a glare until Dawn spoke.

"I think I'm over the initial shock at it all. Though it is still a little hard to believe my home was actually attacked. I guess it's a good thing I went to Kid's place after school otherwise I might have actually been here when whoever did this showed up."

"So what were you doing at Kid's anyway?"

"Soul!"

"What? It's an honest question! I'm just curious, sheesh." He said defensively, putting his hands up in front of himself.

Dawn laughed and turned to face them fully.

"I have no problem answering that." She said, a mischievous smirk spreading across her face. "It's very simple really, me and Kid decided… well it was actually Kid's idea but we decided in order to teach Liz not to mess with us like in a previous incident, we should dye her hair… lime green."

Both Soul and Maka's eyes widened only for a second before they burst out laughing.

"Oh my god! Seriously?"

"That's hilarious!"

Dawn just shook her head, smiling. She turned back, facing the inside of what was left of her living space.

"Lucky for you two, I don't get too attached to objects. There are just a few things I would like to see if I can salvage then we can get out of here."

Maka nodded. "Good. I'm getting a weird vibe being in here. Not before though, the last time I was here it was fine. The atmosphere just feels different now somehow."

Soul rolled his eyes. "Yeah, maybe because this place has been searched. You think of that before Sherlock?"

"You two just wait here." I'll be right back."

"You sure you'll be ok?"

"Yeah I'll be fine." Dawn waved it off. "I'll just be a minute."

She walked off without another word. Once she got into the hallway she made her way to the room at the very end only to see some of the belongings that had been thrown in the search had made a large pile in the doorway. Dawn sighed but lifted one leg and kicked the pile into the room, objects being thrown every which way. Stepping around the majority of the mess, she walked over to her closet which, oddly enough, was still closed and appeared to be untouched. She felt uneasy as she reached for the handle and began to pull it open. As it opened slowly it creaked and stuck. Dawn grunted and began to pull on the handle harder and harder until she was leaning away, her whole weight being supported by her grip on the handle. Suddenly the door broke and Dawn fell backwards, getting buried under the piles of belongings that had been shoved tightly into her closet.

"Ugh, great." She mumbled sarcastically as she wiggled her way out of the pile.

Once out she sat cross-legged beside it and began digging through until she found a medium sized black suitcase. Going back into the pile, she pulled out one photo of her, Justin, and their adoptive parents, a small red ipod, complete with headphones, and a small brown box that was locked shut. Then she went to her dresser, dumping all her intact clothes into the suitcase as well and headed back out to where Maka and Soul sat patiently.

"I'm ready to go."

The three were now on their way to Maka and Soul's apartment.

"Oh. You haven't been to our place yet have you?"

"Nope." Dawn shook her head.

"You'll be in for a big surprise then." Soul said, smirking.

She looked warily from him back to his meister but neither two said anything further.

"Oh..kay.." she said quietly to herself, dragging out each syllable but then began humming to fill the awkward silence.

Not long later they reached the building and went up to the apartment that Soul and Maka lived in. Only steps into the residence, Dawn heard a loud meow and turned to watch as a small cat ran towards them.

"Aw, you've got a cat? That's so cu-"

She stopped mid-sentence as the cat took one last jumping stride then seemed to morph into a full grown woman who proceeded to hug Soul to her chest.

"My little scythey-boy is back!"

"Dawn, meet Blair." Maka tried to sound polite but failed horribly at hiding the annoyed tone in her voice.

"Ooo." Blair cooed, releasing Soul from her hug and turning her attention to Dawn.

Soul simply fell to the ground, nose bleeding.

"Aw and who are you? I don't believe I've met you before!"

"Oh. I'm Dawn Law." She said, smiling.

"Well aren't you precious!" Blair purred and pinched one of Dawn's cheeks.

"I hope you don't find this rude…" Dawn began speaking awkwardly because of Blair's hold on her face. "…but what exactly are you?"

"Well I'm a kitty with an incredible amount of magical power!" she giggled and she stopped pinching Dawn and used her hand to make a motion that imitated a cat's paw. "Oh!" her head snapped to attention as her ears swiveled slightly. "My bath's done!" she cheered as she skipped off to the bathroom.

Maka sighed. "Come on, I'll show you the way to the guest room."

Dawn smirked as she let Maka walk a little ahead then looked down at Soul and said quietly enough so Maka wouldn't hear, "So in this house, instead of owning the cat, the cat owns you. I think I get it."

Giggling, she caught up to Maka in a few strides and was lead into a room that had nothing but a dresser, bed, and night table.

"I apologize for Blair…"

"Hey, don't worry about it." Dawn cut Maka off. "Right now, I'm just glad she didn't pinch my injured cheek."

After that Maka left Dawn to get settled in the guest room. She emptied her clothes into the dresser and set the box and photo side by side on the small bedside table. Grabbing her ipod, she turned it on and put on the headphones. They had a red band and the ear pieces were black with death's mask printed on them. Dawn fell backwards onto the bed and rested her hands behind her head. She began to sing along.

"But with life we never know when we're coming up to the end of the road. So what do we do then, with tragedy around the bend? We live, we love, we forgive and never give up. 'Cuz the days we are given, are gifts from above and today we remember to live and to love."

She continued singing until her voice drifted off and she fell asleep, completely unaware of not one, but two pairs of golden eyes watching her.

**Author's Note: Sorry for the short chapter but this is all I had time to write today. I was busy all week and this is all I could both write and type in one day and I wanted it up ASAP. Besides, this also seemed like a fairly good spot to end a chapter. The song Dawn sings is called "We Live" by Superchick. **

**Next chapter will be much longer and will definitely be one you don't want to miss. Just saying. SPOILER ALERT! It's a big twist. And will make this story rated T for a good reason. You have been WARNED!**

**Lastly, I am actually really interested in hearing who you think those two pairs are golden eyes are. We'll make a contest out of it. Get one of them right and… I don't know… um… You name something you want to see in the story and it'll happen! (since I never really have much planned past the next chapter) Or I'll draw you anything if you have a DA or just want some kind of art done though I'm not the next Picasso or anything. And even if you don't, ideas are always appreciated and welcome, just not guaranteed. But they will be if you guess right!**

**Thanks for reading, **

**~Violetdawn00 ;D**


	15. 14: An Untimely Reunion

_**The DSM?**_

**Chapter 14: An Untimely Reunion**

Blair meowed quietly and walked away from the small opening between the door to the guest room and it's frame. Her small cat paws padded silently on the floor as she walked into the living room and jumped up onto the couch, curling up in a ball to go to sleep as well.

"She is actually pretty good." Blair commented to herself. "Not over the top amazing, but good none the less."

Blair fell asleep on the couch purring, happy to have a new friend.

**The gallows mansion….**

Patty and Liz sat on Liz's bed and talked now that Kid had gone to sleep.

"It's really bugging you that much huh sis?"

"Of course it is Patty! How does it not bug you?"

Patty just shrugged. "If you bugs you so much, why don't you just tell them?"

"Are you crazy? It would only make things worse!"

"How?"

Liz sighed. "Patty, when you push people about things it only makes them push back and no one gets anywhere on the matter."

Patty just giggled and looked at her sister as if she were a small child.

"Duh sis. It's called a fight. I don't see what it has to do with Kid and Dawn though… they're friends not enemies. Why would they ever fight?"

Groaning, Liz fell forward, face first and buried her face into her pillow.

A great while later in Soul and Maka's apartment…

Dawn rolled over in the guest bed as light started streaming in through the blinds on the window. Feeling an object beneath her, she groggily arched her back up slightly to both stretch and obtain the object she was laying on so that it could no longer disturb her. Pulling it up in front of her face she saw it was none other than her ipod. Further searching revealed her headphones had been pushed down to the very end of the bed. She put both onto the bedside table and reburied her face into the pillow but just before she was able to fall back asleep, Maka knocked on the door.

"Dawn? You should get up now if you want to have time to eat before school."

"Five more minutes." She mumbled from the pillow.

Maka laughed and swung the door open, leaning into the room.

"Come on, it's a Friday. This last day then it's the weekend and you don't need to wake up early."

"Doesn't matter."

"Why not?"

"One word, Monday."

Laughing again, Maka just shook her head and left. Dawn stretched and swung her feet over the side of the bed. Once she stood, she stretched again and walked over to the mirror above the dresser. She re-braided her hair and changed into a clean pair of clothes before leaving the room and meeting up with Soul and Maka in their kitchen. Yawning and rubbing at her eyes, Dawn sat down at the table, a plate of food already there waiting for her.

"Thanks." She muttered in her sleepy haze and started eating.

"You're welcome." Maka nodded towards her. "I'm making dinner tonight as well."

"It's my turn tomorrow." Soul continued. "We take turns."

Dawn swallowed so she could speak.

"I'll do it the next day then if you'd like."

"No, that's ok Dawn."

She shook her head, pointing the fork at Maka definitively.

"I'm going to pull my weight around here. It's the very least I can do to repay you for allowing me to stay here."

Maka tried to interrupt but Dawn continued.

"Besides, I promise you… my cooking won't make you that sick. I swear it."

She chuckled, smirking at her own joke then continued to eat her breakfast. Maka and Soul laughed as well, giving in. Once she finished her food, Dawn stood up and made her way to the door.

"I'm going to head over to the school early. I want to talk to Lord Death before classes start today."

Turning around to face the other two students, she was met with inquisitive glances.

"What's the matter?"

"You called Lord Death… well Lord Death." Maka stated followed by Soul who nodded in agreement.

"That's not like you at all."

Dawn seemed to think about it for a minute, her eyes staring into the floorboards.

"You're right… but maybe I'm still a bit shaken by my place getting searched. I mean, you hear about things like that messing with people's subconscious minds often right? To be completely honest, I didn't really think about it…"

Shrugging, she continued on her way and left the apartment, jogging towards the DWMA. Dawn began humming a happy tune, unaware of just how dark her outlook would become over the simple span of a few hours.

Meanwhile…

Liz and Patty woke up and went downstairs, surprised to see that their meister was not yet there. Kid was normally up before them so they both decided to go back up and check on him. Liz knocked on the door to Kid's room.

"Hey Kid, are you-"

She was interrupted as Patty took a running leap at the door and knocked it into the room.

"Patty!" Liz and Kid yelled in unison.

Kid had been sitting up in his bed, rubbing one of his recurring headaches that he had recently started getting after the hit to his head on his mission with Dawn away when Patty had burst into the room, worsening it.

"What?" Patty looked around innocently. "We need to start getting ready. You know school starts at seven."

Groaning, Kid fell back and pulled his pillow over his head.

"Patty!" Liz repeated. "You know that number practically taunts him!"

"You mean because it can't be split in half evenly? Well neither can six or five or four or thr- … oh … or two!"

"Will you stop?" Liz facepalmed and dragged Patty out of the room.

Patty was only further confused by this. "Why…?"

"You were just making it worse Patty."

"Oh… ok!" She giggled obliviously and skipped away to the kitchen.

Liz could vaguely hear her singing about giraffe pancakes as she followed slowly behind her sister.

At the academy…

Dawn jogged up the final steps to the school entrance, slightly out of breath. She was surprised to see Spirit looking around the small groups of early rising students that had gathered in the cobblestone courtyard. His face lit up once her caught sight of her standing at the top of the steps. She watched Spirit warily as he jogged up to her. To Dawn's personal horror, he didn't stop in front of her but instead continued with the motion and picked her up, spinning her around while he cried and said something over and over again incoherently.

"Put. Me. Down." Dawn said lowly, eye twitching.

Spirit ignored her and even though he had stopped spinning her around, he didn't release her from the hug. Dawn began to squirm and kick in her attempts to free herself.

"Spirit at least speak English!"

He finally seemed to snap out of it and put her down but he continued his indistinguishable rantings. Dawn scowled and smacked Spirit to get him to be quiet. She then proceeded to ignore the whispers as the students who witnessed the action instantaneously started spreading their new gossip about how the latest student disrespected and hit Lord Death's current weapon partner. The death scythe got over it quickly however, obviously whatever it was that had him so excited was on the very forefront of his mind.

"I'm so happy for you!"

He continued crying happily and went to hug her again but she sidestepped his attempt and he stumbled a few feet.

"What exactly happened to me that makes you so happy anyway? It's not like I won the lottery, or as if you're even someone who should care if anything particularly good happens to me. We aren't exactly friends you know."

"I can't believe how long you've been separated! You poor girl!"

Spirit tried to hug her yet again and Dawn repeated her evasion only to run into someone. She turned to apologize but was frozen to the spot because of who she was looking up at. A tall man with golden blond hair and deep blue, pupil-less eyes stared down at her. An equally tall woman stepped out from behind him who had lighter blond hair and red eyes. She smiled a sickly sweet grin and bent down, taking the still girl's hands in her own and looked Dawn in the eyes.

"Hi sweetheart. You remember me don't you?"

The woman's sweet smile deeply contrasted the tight grip she kept on Dawn's hands and the young girl's heart started racing.

"Let me try." The man said, stepping forward and bending down as well. "She was always a little daddy's girl."

"It's a family reunion!" Spirit was crying even more now. "I'll give you all some space to get reacquainted."

Dawn wanted to yell after Spirit, to tell him not to leave, but she couldn't form any words. As soon as he left eyesight, the grip on Dawn's hands intensified ten-fold causing her to whimper in pain and try to pull her hands away as the woman's long nails continued to dig further into her palms.

"Did you really think you could escape us?" The older man's voice grew menacing as he and the woman stood up and began dragging Dawn back down the steps.

Before Dawn knew it, she was thrown into the back of a car and it began speeding further and further away from the academy and not too long later, all of death city could be seen in the rearview mirror. The whole time, Dawn continually tried to kick at the car windows or open the doors but had no luck escaping. Eventually the man snapped.

"STOP IT BRAT!"

The lady twisted around in her seat and grabbed onto Dawn, throwing her head into the window with such force that it knocked her out and she slumped down into the seat, leaving a streak of blood on the window.

Back in the DWMA…

Kid, Liz, and Patty made it to the bottom of the stairs at the same time as Soul and Maka. The five talked as they walked up towards the academy.

"So where's Dawn?" Kid asked her two new roommates.

"Well she left earlier, said she wanted to talk to your father." Maka answered him.

In the death room…

Stein and Lord Death were wrapping up their discussion on soul projection.

"So I think it may be her best chance at proper self defense and quite possibly any offense she may need to do." Death concluded.

Stein nodded in agreement.

"That is, if her soul can even handle such a thing."

Lord Death was about to respond when Spirit came waltzing into the death room, completely oblivious to the quizzical stares he was receiving from both other men. They continued watching him as he danced through the room with a giddy smile on his face and tears still streaming down his face.

"Uh… Spirit?" Lord Death asked cautiously, unsure about just what his weapon was doing.

"Yep?"

"Are you drunk again?"

"No!"

"Then what are you doing?"

Spirit was quiet for quite awhile, just looking on with that same giddy expression on his face as if he was waiting for someone to take a guess."

"Spirit..." Stein said in a firm no nonsense tone. "What did you do?"

**Author's Note: This story is now officially 70 average letter pages front and back… Wow. SORRY! I'M SO SORRY! And am personally appalled at the time it took for this to get put up. But luckily for all you readers, I start school in two days. I write at school… A LOT. It's a total of seven hours where I can write in my spare time. (Six hours of class and a half an hour bus ride there then back) I'll be back into the routine swing soon. And this would have been up many many days ago if it hadn't been for getting grounded then having to volunteer at my town festival. **

**Back to the content….**

**How many of you were totally NOT expecting that? Huh? Huh? (Seriously I wanna know for reference, to judge my ability to surprise you, etc. Tell me in a Pm or review please!)**

**And if you guessed that one of the yellow eyes belonged to Blair you were right! (obviously) Here's an imaginary virtual cookie! :3**

_Review Q:  So who WAS the second pair of eyes?_

_And how did Dawn's biological parents find her after all those years?_

_Hint: There is a link between the two._

**From now on, correct answers to "Review Q" questions will get an art prize or the ability to create an event for the story that you want to see happen.

_Special Thanks To:_

The Pheonix Of The Water

Harvey The Wonder Hamster

ToastyCrayons

Littlesister28516

_For their encouraging reviews._

The Pheonix Of The Water

Harvey The Wonder Hamster

**ToastyCrayons**

_For entering my contest._

Harvey The Wonder Hamster

_For your awesome scene suggestion. Promise it will be within the next few chapters._

The Pheonix Of The WaterFor your adorable fanart on DeviantArt. I really do love it ^_^

'**Tis all my loyal readers! Thanks again for sticking around! **


	16. 15: Holding Out For A Hero

_**The DSM?**_

**Chapter 15: Holding Out For A Hero**

The group of students met up with Blackstar and Tsubaki near the top of the stairs and they all walked to class together. They all got settled in their seats and Kid looked to the classroom door occasionally, expecting to see Dawn come through. As the last few minutes until class ticked by, Kid couldn't stop the feeling of dread that started growing the longer he waited. Once the bell rang and neither Dawn nor Stein or Spirit showed up, the feeling instantly doubled.

"Something isn't right…"

In the death room…

Stein stared Spirit down but for once Spirit did not appear fazed by his gaze.

"Spirit. What happened?" Death asked this time.

"I reunited a family!" Spirit giggled like a young girl who had just been told her crush liked her.

Death was confused but turned to Stein for a moment.

"I believe you should go tend to your class. I can take it from here."

Stein nodded and strode out of the room, down the hall and towards the classroom. Returning his gaze to his weapon, Death requested that Spirit tell him more of this family reunion he claimed to have instigated.

"Well you see, this lovely couple came and told me the saddest story of how their daughter was kidnapped when she was just a toddler and they have been looking for her for a little over a decade. Everyone told them to just give up, that she was probably dead but they refused to believe it! They were determined to find their little baby girl! Such loving parents!" he started crying again about the mystery people's devotion to their child.

"Spirit!"

"Oh right. Anyway, so then they told me about how they got an anonymous tip that she was alive and here in death city. Which is why they sought me out. They thought I might know where to find her. So I asked them who she was and they told me her name was Dawn so I was like…"

Spirit didn't get to finish before he was once again interrupted by Lord Death.

"You didn't…"

"Of course I did! How can you expect me to just not do anything to reunite those people who care so much for their daughter who they haven't seen in more than ten years!"

Spirit's response fell on deaf ears however as Lord Death was already trying to figure out what to do next.

"How long ago was this?"

"Oh… ten minutes maybe…"

"Damn it."

"What's wrong?"

"We have no idea where they could have taken her or just how much trouble she may be in."

Spirit just kept watching Death with a very confused look so Death gave him a shortened version of what he told the students, leaving out the parts that hinted to her being a potential death scythe meister.

"Then why didn't they ask to see Justin too then?" the weapon continued with his questions, still not quite understanding.

"Because Justin would not allow them to take himself or Dawn. He is a death scythe after all. Simple civilians could not be able to force him into anything."

Class crescent moon…

Stein walked into the class.

"Ok quiet down students!"

Everyone did as they were told as the professor sat down in his wheeled chair.

"Take out your books and turn to page 170."

Kid had to stop himself from asking if he knew where Dawn was, telling himself that if anyone knew where she was, it would be his father.

"I'll go see him after class." He murmured to himself.

After class…

Liz hadn't failed to notice how distracted Kid was during the lesson. As soon as they had gotten out of the classroom she pulled him off to the side of the hallway, away from the general student traffic. She didn't even have to ask him what it was that had him distracted.

"I'm sure everything is ok. Your dad will be able to let us know what's going on. Heck, she is probably with him right now."

Kid nodded, still looking unsure however, he was unable to shake the feeling that something was wrong.

"Hey guys!"

Maka was waving them down from the other end of the hall, the rest of their 'group' with her.

"Want to come hang out?"

Liz took one look at Kid's reluctant face and smiled.

'He is so concerned about her, it's cute.' She thought as she patted his shoulder.

"You go talk to your dad. I'll see you back at the house."

Before he could say anything she jogged off to join the others. Putting his hands in his pants pockets, he began the walk to the death room. His head hung low as many possible scenarios ran through his mind. Liz turned to chance a glance of Kid walking off and smirked.

"Predictable reaction."

"What?" Patty asked curiously when Liz turned forward again and the group left the academy.

"Oh nothing." Her smirk grew.

…

Kid sighed as he walked down the hallway to the death room. 'Liz is probably right.' He kept telling himself there had to be an obviously logical reason why she wasn't in class that he accidentally overlooked in his search for a possible scenario, but no matter how hard he tried he just could NOT get rid of the sinking feeling he had that something had gone wrong. He entered the actual death room to find his father and Spirit talking.

"Well how was I supposed to know?!" Spirit said defensively.

"How were you supposed to know what?"

The two older men turned, alerted to the boy's prescene.

"Uh… hey Kiddo."

Kid easily picked up on the uneasy and cautious tone in Death's voice. Something was definitely wrong.

"What happened?"

"Oh!… Well…"

"What. Happened." His voice grew angry to hide just how nervous he was getting.

Lord Death sighed, knowing it would upset Kid a great deal to find out that Dawn had been kidnapped by her biological parents but that he was bound to find out, and soon. He figured he might as well be the one to break the news to his son.

"Kid… Dawn's parents stopped by earlier and well…"

"So she's with them? That's why she wasn't in class?"

For a moment, Death was confused by how calm Kid seemed to be about it until he realized that he probably thought Dawn was with her adoptive parents.

"Yes she is with them but you don't understand Kid… I'm referring to her biological parents."

Kid could have swore his heart stopped the moment he realized what that meant. That Dawn was with the very people who left her for dead in that alley years ago. The same people who would probably not hesitate to do it again, only this time they might finish the job.

"Then why isn't there someone out looking for her?!" his voice raised in pitch.

"Because no one can get her back from them until we know where they are. Until then, having people out there searching randomly and without direction would only be counter-productive when they can be here instead, helping us locate her."

Kid ground his teeth and clenched his fists in anger. He knew his father was right, but that didn't mean he had to be happy with the situation. Perhaps Liz was right, maybe he was a spoiled rich kid. He'd almost always gotten what he wanted and right now, what he wanted was for this whole situation to blow over and for Dawn to be back and safe in death city. He surprised himself with just how upset and angry he was about the whole situation.

"Fine." He huffed. "What can I do to help?"

Unknown location…

Dawn's eyes opened slowly to find herself looking out a car window at the sunset. Her head hurt so she rubbed it, confused when she felt something wet and sticky.

"Huh?"

Pulling her hand away, her eyes widened when she saw it was coated in blood. She also saw odd bruises forming on her palms that looked like marks left by long nails. Dawn felt the car come to a stop and shrieked as the door she was leaning against opened and she fell forward into a pair of arms that picked her up, positioning her upside down, more blood rushing from the small wound in her head. Whimpering, she put her hands on her head, willing the pain to go away.

"Be quiet!" a voice barked as her midsection was squeezed tighter.

She instantly remembered the previous events and thrashed against her father's hold until the light headed dizziness and blood-loss was too much for her to handle. Once inside the building they had pulled in front of, her father threw her into a windowless room. She fell on her arm, twisted underneath her and cried out in pain. The heavy door slammed and locked behind her.

Dawn couldn't stop the tears that sprung up in her eyes. She limped over to the far wall and sat against it, holding the arm she fell on gingerly. She thought about what her friends might be doing now, if they even knew she was gone. Doubting it, she let the tears spill over and down her face, wincing as a single tear passed over the re-opened cut on her cheek. She didn't need to look to know all her tentatively healed injuries from her mission were re-opened as well in her struggle to free herself.

Her mind wandered, trying to ignore the pain she was in. Secretly being just as obsessed with music as her older brother, her mind rested on a song she was reminded of. Doing the only thing she could think of to deal with her situation, she sang it quietly enough so as to not attract the attention of her parents.

"Late at night I toss and turn and dream of what I need. I need a hero, I'm holding out for a hero till the end of the night. He's got to be strong, he's got to fast, and he's got to be fresh from the fight. I need a hero. I'm holding out from a hero till the morning light."

She continued until she drifted off to sleep on the cold cement floor, deciding that even if no one was coming to save her, she'd find her own way to get out… she hoped.

**Author's Note:** **So yeah, here is the next chapter. I just want to thank the people who have stuck with this story and all those who have favourited, subscribed, and reviewed. I really appreciate it.**

**Harvey The Wonder Hamster: Don't worry, I still plan on using your idea, but this was already planned first to happen so yeah. Once this blows over it shall happen :) **

**Song: Holding Out For A Hero, The Ella Mae Bowen version. Also the inspiration for this chapter and the next I do believe.**

_Lastly, Time for the Review Q's!_

Still, What is the connection between the second pair of golden eyes and Dawn's parents finally finding her?

And,_ What do you think Kid will do next? Will he actually be able to sit back on the sidelines?_

**-Vi**


	17. 16: All's Well That Ends Well

_**The DSM?**_

Xoritirox: I really glad to hear you liked it. Hope you find this one just as well ^.^

Eophi: Thanks for the frequent reviews.

Ur momma isa mom: Sydney… no. just no. *sassy back-talk voice* Dun even go thar gurl.

Um NO NAME: Thanks so much. And I hope you are satisfied with this DawnXKid fluffiness 15 chapters in the making though it's still not too much. Need to ease into it ;)

And thanks to all those who have favourited and/or subscribed to this story! 3

**Chapter 16:** **All's Well That Ends Well**

Lord Death looked at his son conflictedly.

"There's not much that can be done in the first place Kiddo..." he said carefully. "I think the best course of action for you right now would be to just go back to the mansion and before you know it, Dawn will be back." He was trying to sound reassuring but it wasn't working when he wasn't even sure if they could do this himself.

If glares could have physical impacts, Kid would have burned a hole through the ground in front of his feet in no time at all. He quickly composed himself however and instantly seemed calm and indifferent as he often seemed to look. Turning around, Kid decided it was better to just listen to his father, at least for now.

"Fine." He said, sighing. "Just let me know if anything changes."

When Kid got back to the mansion, it was starting to get dark. Right away when he entered he was greeted by Liz and Patty.

"We were just about to come look for you, you took so long." Liz commented as she walked, combing out the last of the lime green hairs.

Patty nodded in her usual hyper active way.

"So did you find Dawn?"

Ignoring the question, Kid walked by his partners tensely, avoiding their questioning gazes.

"I'm going to bed." He mumbled.

Liz and Patty exchanged concerned glances as he continued walking off. Putting her brush down, Liz motioned for her sister to stay put then jogged off after her meister.

"Kid? What happened?"

She was ignored again however and she was starting to get fed up with the attitude she was receiving from him. Jumping in front of Kid, she forced him to acknowledge her.

"Damn it Kid answer me!"

"She's gone Liz." He snapped back. "She's been kidnapped by her parents to who knows where and my father expects me to just sit around and do nothing! I can't stand feeling so powerless!"

Liz was stunned, she didn't know if she had heard him right or not. Kidnapped? She realized she must have looked like a dumbfounded idiot as she stared blankly. Kid was watching her for her reaction with a mixture of expectancy and his ever-growing frustration.

"It's so… so… sudden though." Liz whispered out.

"Yeah well I highly doubt kidnappers call ahead and schedule a 'convenient' time to kidnap someone." He said with bitter sarcasm.

He walked around his still stunned partner and continued to his room. Once there he fell onto his bed, opting to try and immediately sleep his frustration off. Also hoping that by the time he woke up this whole problem would be over. Unfortunately it would seem he was not going to be having any such luck. Kid kept tossing and turning, all his attempts at sleep failing horribly.

.:Morning:.

It was five in the morning when Dawn became faintly aware of movement in the building. She tried to move but her joints protested, sending waves of numb pain through her body. Suddenly the door to the room she was in flung open and her mother stomped in, dragging Dawn out by the back of her tank top. Instead of letting Dawn walk down the stairs to what looked like the main living area, her mother threw her down, sending her tumbling to the bottom. Groaning, Dawn pulled up her head and saw something that gave her a twinge of hope… a window. She turned around to see her mother about half way down the stairs.

'Here's my chance.' She thought and shot up, sprinting to the window despite the pain that still lingered in her joints. Throwing the window open, she was about to jump out it when she froze, shocked to see that they were in the very same ghost town that she went to on her first mission with Kid, Patty and Liz. What terrified her was that she knew that there was no one around for miles. As if to confirm it, her father came up behind her.

"Go ahead, run. No one is around for you to go to. Plus, you won't get very far on that leg."

Dawn was about to ask what he was talking about when he lifted his foot and brought it down hard on the middle of her left shin. There was a sickening crack and Dawn screamed, falling down onto her right knee, carefully holding her leg.

.:The Mansion:.

Kid couldn't stand laying in his bed attempting to sleep any longer.

"This is pointless." He mumbled.

Getting up, he left his room, not having to change because he hadn't even bothered to change out of his suit the previous night. He simply straightened his hair and clothes. Peering into Liz and Patty's room he found them still sleeping as he expected. He stuffed his hands in his pockets, head down and walked like that all the way to the DWMA and down the corridor to the death room until he was close enough that he could hear his father talking with Sid. Kid hid behind one of the guillotine beams to listen in.

"What do you mean we can't find her?" Lord Death asked.

"Sir, all witness sightings of the couple end once they left Death City and we have no way of tracking them unless we could have someone detect Dawn's soul wavelength but that's impossible unless she were to take off the charm hiding it."

"Well where were they last sighted?"

"Heading west out of the city."

Kid's eyes narrowed and he snuck back out of the death room.

"That's all I needed to hear."

He took off at a sprint down the hallway and out of the school. Once out, he pulled out his skateboard and jumped on it in mid-air, flying out west.

…

Dawn's mother ran forward and smacked her father.

"What did you do that for idiot?" she screamed.

"I'm making sure she can't get away!" he yelled back.

"Well now she's useless!"

They continued bickering as Dawn slowly began inching away, silently praying that they would both stay focused on each other long enough for her to get away. Once she had made it to the door, she stood up gingerly and continued inching quietly away until it closed behind her. Then she started hopping away on her good leg, maneuvering around the rubble as best and fast as she could.

Dawn noted how the streets were much more difficult to walk through with what she could only assume was a broken leg, if the horrendous crack she heard was anything to go on besides the immense pain and the fact her whole shin had turned an unnatural blue-purple that made her stomach churn just looking at it. She was distracted when she heard the lack of arguing. Panicking, Dawn dove into the nearest alley, fearing they had realized her absence. She barely managed to stay quiet as she landed roughly, only bruising herself more. It was only a few seconds before she heard the piercing screams of both her parents.

…

Kid had been flying for a while when he heard a set of rather disturbing screams.

"Damn it." He groaned but knew he'd regret it later if you didn't check it out and sped off in the direction.

Arriving at the area he believed to be where he heard the screams, he landed and looked around to he found a building he was feeling drawn to, it's door swinging open and closed in the breeze ominously. He entered and walked around cautiously before he came upon the bodies of an older man and woman laying in a disturbingly large pool of blood. Turning the man over, he recognized the wound immediately.

"Medusa…" he murmured.

Suddenly, he put two and two together and realized who the couple must be... and why they were killed. Before he could stop himself, he jumped to his feet and yelled.

"Dawn!"

Dawn's head snapped up when she heard Kid. 'He's close. He actually came looking for me!' she thought ecstatically, tears of joy nearly springing up before she felt small arms wrap around her torso and mouth as she was lifted into the air. She struggled a bit, then bit the hand over her mouth, getting an angry grunt from the person behind her.

"Kid!" she yelled back and watched as he ran around the corner, stopping dead in his tracks when he saw her.

She was being held up by Medusa who was using her snakes to gain the height advantage she so obviously lacked after stealing the body of a little girl. Medusa repositioned her arms, one around Dawn's throat and the other on the side of her head.

"Make one move and I snap her neck, reaper." Medusa growled out but with a hint of contentment, clearly knowing she had a large advantage.

"You should just turn around and leave now." She continued, obviously growing to enjoy herself. "You won't get her back. You don't even have your weapons with you and even if you did, my body is so small I can hide behind this girl without a problem. You'd more likely hit her than me. Oh yeah, and I have immunity from all DWMA staff, personnel and students remember? I told you where to find the kishin."

Dawn could tell by the look on Kid's face that she was telling the truth, but the same idea seemed to cross their minds at the same time as they exchanged knowing glances. Kid moved his hand ever so discreetly behind his back, slowly bringing his board back out.

"In that case…" Dawn said as best she could with the witch's arm around her neck. 'This is it, no holding back.' She told herself then continued out loud. "I quit!"

With that, Dawn let loose the biggest soul force she had ever allowed herself to, Medusa dropped her and Dawn began falling the twenty foot descent to the ground but was instead caught bridal-style by a grinning Kid as he began flying them both back to the academy.

"We make a pretty good team huh?" Dawn chuckled.

Kid was about to agree when he looked down and saw her leg, swollen and purple. His grin instantly disappeared and he couldn't help but feel guilty that he hadn't left to look for her sooner.

"Hey."

Dawn was having none of that and poked his cheek to get his attention, when he looked back at her face, her expression turned to one of obviously faked concern and embarrassment.

"That was incredibly rash of me. You think your dad will let me return to the academy as a student?"

This time, Kid couldn't help the smile and chuckle that escaped him.

"I'm sure he will Dawn. I'm sure he will."

**Author's Note: Omg a bit of DawnXKid fluff for you guys! :3 Tell me what ya think please. Oh and sorry for the late update, was on vacation. Went to Agawa Canyon. It's is absolutely gorgeous there. Yeah, I can't remember anything else I wished to say to you, my loyal readers. So until next time, farewell and au revior mon amis. Thanks French for goodbye my friends!**

**~Vi**


	18. 17: A Favor To Ask

_**The DSM?**_

_**ToastyCrayons:** I'm excited that you would like to draw a picture based on that scene and would love to see it when finished if possible._

_**Xoritirox: **Omg thanks! So happy you like it so much and I shall use that idea very greatfully, though I shall inform you a scene suggested by another reader is coming up in the next chapter which will be quite similar._

_**Eophi: **My vacation was quite awesome, lmao xD, thanks a lot, here is the next chapter! And I'm quite fluent no? ;D_

_**Um NO NAME: **So sorry for taking so long :'( Hope this makes up for it though._

Lastly, thanks to those who favourited and/or subscribed and as for the reviews left by people I know in real life, I've already responded to those in person.

_**ON TO THE STORY!**_

**Chapter 17: A Favor To Ask**

About half way back to the academy, Kid looked down at Dawn to see that she had fallen asleep, a small smile on her face and her head leaning against his shoulder. He had to look away as he started to feel his sleepless night catching up with him.

…

Waking up, Dawn started to stretch before she winced and stopped, once again greeted with pain throughout her body. There seemed to be something different about this pain though, it was numb. As if something was dulling it. Gathering a bit of courage, she opened her eyes which then widened as there, directly is her view was her left leg. Not only was it wrapped in a cast as she expected it would need to be, but it was up in a sling, suspended above the bed. Dawn could only stare at it stunned.

"…shit."

"I see you're up."

She let out a startled yelp and turned to see Stein enter her 'room' through one of the curtains that separated her from the rest of what she assumed would be at least a few other injured children. Weapons and their meisters were going into dangerous fights everyday after all.

"You have got to stop doing that!" she exclaimed.

"Doing what?"

"Scaring me like that!"

"Then maybe you should learn to calm down then. You are safe now and have no reason to be nervous anymore." He stated in a monotone voice.

"I can't help it if I'm jumpy." Dawn mumbled.

Stein walked over to where Dawn had an IV drip hooked into her arm. Her stomach heaved when she noticed the IV was set up for blood and she needed to turn away to avoid throwing up.

"You lost a lot of it." He said absently, nodding to the drip. "Just about finished with it though I think."

Dawn busied herself with taking in the rest of her injuries and found that a large majority of herself was covered in bandages. Raising the arm she hadn't landed on, she discovered even her head was wrapped up, pieces of her blond hair sticking out at random from between the layers. Huffing, she put her not-as-injured arm across her midsection in the closest action she could to crossing her arms.

"I probably look like a freakin' mummy."

Her pout didn't last very long and she switched her attention to searching around the room as Stein continued to busy himself with checking her IV and the sling holding up her leg. Dawn caught a tiny movement from her peripheral vision and snapped her head to the side to find Kid haphazardly lounging in a chair, asleep. He looked for all the world like someone had simply thrown him onto the chair. Her quiet giggle caught Stein's attention as he was finishing.

"He's been there for a few hours, as long as you have. After he brought you in and I told him you'd be fine he dropped onto that chair there and was asleep in no time."

Without another word, Stein left as quickly as he'd come.

"Not one to stick around huh?" she mumbled but turned back to Kid when she noticed him stir.

Kid blinked and it took him a moment to remember where he was. Stretching a bit, he stood up and looked up, being greeted with the sight of Dawn, bandaged, bruised, and left leg suspended above her bed, IV drip on the other side. Dawn was about to greet him when he promptly strode out of the room, fists clenched at his sides.

"Did I do something wrong?" she whispered dejectedly, upset by the boy's sudden and wordless departure.

…

Lord Death was walking on his way to see how Dawn was doing when he saw his son walking down the hall towards him, away from the medical ward.

"Son. I think we need to talk." He said, putting out his hand to prevent Kid from just walking past him and down the hall. He silently walked into a vacant classroom with Kid following so that they wouldn't have to worry about being overheard. Once the door closed, Kid looked up at his father and began the conversation without a moments hesitation.

"Look, before you give me some lecture about disobeying you, I just couldn't…"

Death raised his hand as a signal for Kid to be quiet.

"That's not what I wanted to talk about."

"…It's not?" Kid didn't bother to disguise the confused tone in his voice "Then what did you want to talk about?"

"I need you to tell me what happened when you found her."

"When I got there her parents were killed. I found her behind the building. She must have escaped until Medusa found her, she was holding Dawn up off the ground. Though, I think found may not be the best choice of word."

Lord Death had started pacing a bit as he took in the information but stopped to turn back to his son at the last sentence.

"Do ya think…"

"Yes." Kid nodded in affirmation. "I think the reason that her parents suddenly found her whereabouts was because they were tipped off 'anonymously' by Medusa. She went on and on about how we couldn't hurt her because of the deal she made with the academy. No doubt she also remembered how that part of the deal could be easily called off if she attacked an academy student. It would be much easier to set it up so Dawn's disappearance, harm, or even… death," he spat the last word venomously. "could be blamed on her parents. Of course, they wouldn't be around either way to dispute any of that."

"And you're sure of this?"

Kid nodded again before the two silently exited the room and continued on their separate ways.

…

Dawn sighed, not enjoying being left alone with nothing to keep her from getting bored. She started playing with the edge of the bed sheet, periodically checking the clock, sure she would go insane in the clean, bland, and soundless room. The curtain cutting her off from the rest of the ward shifted slightly, causing Dawn's desperately-needing-to-be-focused attention to turn to it as Lord Death entered. A wide grin spread across her face.

"Death!"

He chuckled and walked over to stand by her bed.

"How are you doing Dawn?"

"Physically or emotionally?" she answered his question with one of her own and a smirk.

"Both."

"Well physically… I believe the proper term is 'feeling like I got mowed down by a train' and I'm pretty good in the emotional department considering. Still a bit shaken up and more recently a little hurt but other than that, yeah I'm good." She said, shrugging it off.

Death nodded.

"That's good." He stood up. "Oh and Dawn? I'm sorry."

Dawn scoffed, raising one eyebrow with a 'you're kidding right?' look on her face. Not the reaction you'd expect from someone who was just told something like that.

"Sorry for what?"

"For not being able to help you. If Kid hadn't gone out to look for you, you'd probably have been killed by Medusa and…"

"I won't deny that she'd have killed me without much of a fight." Dawn interrupted him. "Just because you are Lord Death doesn't mean me or anyone else expects you to perform miracles. So why expect that of yourself? You have nothing to apologize for."

Death only sighed and nodded. With a quiet goodbye, he left as well.

"Ugh. Alone again."

"Not exactly."

Once again Dawn yelled out in surprise but turned to glare at Stein as he entered.

"Every. Damn. Time! Why?!"

"Because you're being discharged." He stated simply.

"That wasn't what I was asking. I meant… wait. Discharged? Already? Like This?"

"Yes, yes, and yes." Stein answered as he unhooked her casted leg from it's suspending sling. "Other than your leg and the cut in your head, your injuries, however numerous are minor. A pair of crutches and some extra bandages to change and you can be on your way. Just don't over-exert yourself and you'll be fine." He continued as he unplugged her IV and passed her said mentioned pair of crutches and a bag with extra bandages.

"You're sure?" she asked as she cautiously moved her legs to hang off the side of the bed.

"Certain."

"Okay…"

Dawn grabbed the small bag of bandages and slung it over her shoulder before getting a good grip on the crutches and tentatively pulling herself up onto her right leg. It took her a few steps of holding her breath and hoping she wouldn't fall over until she got fairly used to the motion of using them.

"Oh and one more thing."

Stein threw her a pill bottle and she inspected it then looked at him like he was crazy, even though he technically already was.

"Are you giving me drugs?!"

"Prescription painkillers for you leg." He muttered like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Oh. Right, of course." She mumbled, slightly blushing in embarrassment while inwardly scolding herself on the fact that she should have deduced that.

"Well… I'll just… go now. So… yeah."

Rocking forward, Dawn left the room and went out into the hall. She looked down both ways but saw no sigh of the person she had immediately decided to go and look for.

"Damn it. Where could he have gone?"

She roamed the halls for a bit before she got an idea. Scowling, she attempted to climb the stairs to the top floor but the process was arduous and slow going. Eventually she did make it up however her arms were starting to feel like jelly.

"Curse my horrendous lack of upper body strength!"

Adjusting her grip on the handles she continued and came out onto the same balcony she had stopped on with Kid when he gave her a tour. Low and behold, there said boy was, leaning on the ledge and looking out over the city.

"Kid?"

He stiffened and didn't move.

"Kid."

Still nothing.

"Will you just talk to me!?"

Kid's eyes widened at her sudden outburst. Dawn had shouted it, and with a tone he'd never heard her use before. It sounded upset and hurt. He slowly turned around to look at her and found her watching him, looking like she was barely holding back tears as her hands clenched tightly around the handles of her crutches. Taking a few steps towards her, Kid didn't actually know what he was going to do, only that he really didn't like seeing her like this.

"Dawn… I… I should've…"

He hung his head, ashamed by the fact that he had not been able to prevent his friend from further harm. Dawn however seemed to transition from upset to angry.

"Look at me will you?!" she snapped, startling Kid who looked back up to her face with wide eyes.

"Now listen here damn it! You better stop down-grading everything you do and give yourself some credit ok? If I hear any 'I should've done more' bullshit then I'll have to smack you across the face!"

Dawn closed the remaining distance between them with a few swings of her crutches before continuing.

"If it hadn't been for you then Medusa would have killed me by now cause I'm willing to bet she didn't go through all that trouble to get me away from the academy just to invite me over for a tea party!"

Kid laughed and this only seemed to worsen the situation for Dawn.

"What the hell is so fu-"

She was too startled to finished her shout when Kid wrapped his arms around her, bringing her into a hug. Her eyes widened and she even dropped the crutches, her hands loosing their grip in her surprise.

"Uh… Kid?"

"I'm just… really glad you're back."

"… Me too." Dawn said quietly before returning the hug then pulling away.

Kid helped her pick the crutches back up and when they stood back up to normal height with Dawn supporting herself, she looked to him with a crooked smile.

"I've got a favor to ask of you."

"What's that?"

"Can you help me re-do the bandages on my head? I'm sure the whole static-ball-of-hair thing is driving you crazy anyway isn't it?"

Kid smiled sheepishly and scratched the back of his head nervously.

"Just a little bit."

Dawn's smirk grew.

"Liar." She teased.

"Okay, okay a lot. It's so randomly placed and asymmetrical! Let me fix it!"

"Oi! Hands off till we get back to the mansion or some place of the sort where I can sit comfortably." She laughed as she swatted his hands away from her matted mess of hair the best she could. "I have a feeling it'll take a while."

"Please!"

"I'm allowing you to go all crazy needs-perfect-symmetry on my hair so it'll be done under my conditions."

"Oh come on! Please! It's so messy!" he whined, following her as she began her way out of the academy.

"Hey! Watch what you say about my looks reaper." Dawn exclaimed in mock anger.

They continued all the way out of the academy and down the street, earning odd glances from everyone they passed.

**Author's Note: YAY NEXT CHAPTER FINALLY! I personally love this little ending scene! ^.^ Let me know what you think. I apologize for the late update. You can blame it on my English teach who expects his students to have no lives or other homework. Resulting in little time for other homework let alone life in general or personal activities. (writing and drawing for me) UGH! -tears hair out in frustration- Wait a minute… I kinda needed that… NO! lol randomeness. Will try harder to bring the next chapter sooner. Until then my lovely readers, fav, subscribe and review and I shall loves you! (Not like couples love but gratitude and appreciation love) sorry if that disappoints you ;)**

**~Vi **


	19. 18: Realization

_**The DSM?**_

**Destiny Xavier16: Sorry but I still am building up to that. Real soon though ;)**

**ToastyCrayons: I know it sounded like they would but as I just mentioned to Destiny, soon. Not here, but quite soon I assure you.**

**Xoritirox: Here it is! Apologies that it's late but as mentioned in the update I've been intensely busy though by the time you read this I will be writing the next chapter immediately and feverishly as I have no homework this weekend! :D**

**KidsGirlAmmy513: Aw thanks :3 The short-but-to-the-point idea of your review made my day just so you know.**

**An Echo In Time: I'm glad you like the concept. I was quite proud of it myself.**

**Um NO NAME: No, I do not have an oc named Violet. All shall be explained in my (dsm)side-story one shot I'm working on. ;)**

**Suri: Things have been getting better now, thanks.**

**Eophi: Indeed it shall be a great chapter, at least I think so.**

**LovableAmethyst129: I hope this was soon enough that you didn't lose it! :O**

_And thanks for the birthday wishes everybody! It was an awesome 16th! Now, without even further adu, here is Chapter 18!_

**Chapter 18: Realization**

"There! All done!"

Kid stepped back from Dawn and began neatly rolling the extra bandages back up before putting them back into the bag. After they had gotten back to the mansion Dawn had made herself comfortable on a chair as Kid had begun to re-wrap her head. That, had been nearly an hour and a half ago.

"Congrats Kid. That only took like, an hour and twenty minutes longer than it should have." Liz piped up sarcastically from where she was lounging on a chair at the opposite side of the room.

Suddenly Patty jumped up from behind the chair her sister was in, cutting off Kid's retort and causing the two to stare at her surprised, completely unaware of the fact that she had been hiding behind the chair the entire time. They were also both slightly concerned as to why she would have felt the need to do so in the first place.

"Look look look look!" Patty chant-whispered as she pointed to the chair Dawn was in.

Liz and Kid followed Patty's gaze to Dawn whose head had lolled off to the side as she slept. A small amused sound found it's way out of Liz who smiled a little at the sight.

"Looks like you took so long that you put her to sleep."

She looked over to see Patty crouched down, hand stuffed into the bag Dawn had brought from the academy as she rummaged around and came back out with a small pill bottle as the result of her impromptu treasure hunt.

"…or maybe it was those."

Walking over, Liz took the bottle from her younger sibling before she decided to open it and eat all of the small blue and white capsules inside thinking they were candy. Turning it in her hands, she found the list of side effects among other information provided for the user.

"Let's see… side effects include sudden loss of balance, drowsiness, large headaches, slurred speech, muscle spasms, loss of feeling in the extremities…"

Liz trailed off as the three stared at the seemingly harmless pill bottle in horror.

"…Dear god, what was Stein thinking giving that to her!?" Kid whispered, his tone matching his increasingly horrified expression.

"I doubt Stein thought about it much at all."

Patty started giggling as she poked Dawn's twitching hand while the old Thompson slowly put the pills back into the bag with the bandages, holding it away at arms length cautiously as if it would jump up and bite her. As this was going on, Kid stood and contemplated what to do next. He sighed and put his hands back into his pockets.

"We should probably take her back to Soul and Maka's place."

By the time they had made it to Soul and Maka's apartment Dawn had fought off her drowsiness only to get a rather large headache in return, not to mention sore arms from all the walking with the crutches. Of course Kid had offered to help her but she would just shake her head and tell him she would need to learn how to get used to using them. The four of them had taken only a few steps into the residence when Kid was pulled into a hug from Blair.

"It's the hero of the day!"

Dawn's eye twitched and she tried to patiently wait for Blair to let Kid out of the hug she had him in but she didn't. It wasn't the fact that Blair was hugging him that bugged her, but the fact that she was entirely naked and was holding his face to her bare chest, much as she did with Soul. Finally, not knowing what both compelled her to do so and get so angry over Blair's action, Dawn swung forward and pulled Kid from her grasp.

"Go put some clothes on Blair." She spat though the tone was completely lost to the cat-woman.

"Aw why?"

"I wasn't asking." Dawn growled louder this time.

Blair studied Dawn's face for a moment then a challenging smirk crossed her own and she teasingly reached for Kid again. The younger girl's glare deepened as she pulled him behind her, putting herself between him and Blair by switching her weight to lean on one crutch.

'_Why am I acting like this?!"_ She screamed at herself internally, confused by her own unconscious actions.

"Aw what's the matter?" Blair purred. "Is someone jealous? Even as far as _possessive_ maybe?"

Dawn's eyes widened and she stumbled over her own words even though her inward thought were a far cry from the silence she was suddenly found in to the rest of the world.

_'WHAT?! That can't be it… can it? It has to be the headache. Yeah that's it, I'm just testy and aggravated because of these stupid pain pill side-effects.'_

Liz watched with a smirk mirroring Blair's though it would appear Maka was not nearly as happy with the situation as she stepped forward, glaring at the older woman.

"Leave Dawn alone."

"Aw but I was just playing." She whined, pouting and batting her eyelashes innocently.

"I'll be right back."

Dawn had spoken so quietly that even Kid who was still behind her had a hard time hearing it. He watched curiously as she swung off down the hallway. Entering her guest room, she looked up into the mirror above the dresser to be greeted with a reflection of a young girl who looked like her only slightly different. She had the same waist length blond hair, but her bangs fell over her forehead in a straight, even cute above her eyebrows. It was the same style she had it in when she was a child and it still gave off that childish air, making her appear even younger. Realization dawned on her as she noticed that, with this new hairstyle, the one thing asymmetrical about her had been 'fixed'.

"Kid!"

At her yell, all of the others quickly crowded the doorway, though Kid was the only one to actually walk up to Dawn.

"Yes?"

"You. Cut. My. Hair."

She paused after each word, pointing at her bangs with narrowed eyes. Before Kid had time to respond, Maka spoke up from the doorway.

"Um… no offense but… is it really that important to you?"

Dawn sighed.

"It's not so much the loss of my previous hairstyle that bugs me. Just the fact that he did so without my consent and changed it to this specific style."

"So… you're not mad?" Kid asked nervously, causing Dawn to sigh again and shake her head.

"No."

He smiled and nodded. "Good."

"Wait a sec. What's wrong with those bangs?"

Turning to face Patty's general direction, she glared up at the hair draped over her forehead.

"It makes me look childish and younger than I am. Besides, I think this style looks weird on me."

Everyone began leaving now that they had gotten a conclusion to the startling outburst. Though Kid turned back at Dawn's comment and said one last thing before walking back to the living room.

"Nonsense, it looks quite cute."

She watched with wide eyes and tinted cheeks as he left and didn't even know that Liz had come up behind her with her ever growing smirk.

"So Dawn."

Said girl turned around as quickly as she could with her crutches, startled as always and composed herself to look at Liz with a raised eyebrow as an indication that she was listening and to urge Liz to continue.

"Blair was right wasn't she?"

"Uh… um… I… I don't… I mean…"

An arm around her shoulders silenced the girl's embarrassed stumbling and she looked up at Liz to she the near constant mischievous smirk had changed into a kind, encouraging smile.

"I get it, you're confused. Just think about this, how would you react if he was seriously hurt or worse, dead."

Dawn sounded offended and horrified at the same time.

"That's horrible! There's nothing to think about! I'd be torn apart obviously! He's my frien~"

However, she was cut off by Liz before she could finish.

"No. I mean, as horrible as it sounds, think of every detail. Your thoughts, actions, things you'd regret, everything. That's for later though, we should get going before everyone questions about why it's taking so long for us to catch up with them in the living room."

A few hours later Kid, Liz and Patty had left for the mansion and Dawn had gone to sleep with much trouble, Liz's words bouncing around through her head.

_Looking around at her surroundings, the death scythe meister in training scratched at her head in confusion. There were no walls that she could see though she was obviously in a room. No actual floor level was visible either as it was made up of different levels of squared areas that matched stairs in basic appearance except that they did not consistently rise._

"_Where am I?"_

_Dawn turned around to be greeted with the view of Kid fighting Medusa without his weapon partners, and to her horror he was losing, and badly._

"_No one interrupts my plans." Medusa growled as Kid dropped to his knees._

_She flicked her wrist, sending a dozen of her vector arrows piercing through Kid's chest with no move from the young reaper to escape their path. In her panic Dawn didn't question the change the scene took. In an instant Medusa was gone and Dawn was on her knees beside the injured Kid who only twitched and looked to her in response. She cried and clutched his hand as she tried to speak through her choked sobs._

"_K… Kid. I… I…"_

_Hid head fell off to the side, tilting away from her and his hand grew limp in her own, causing Dawn's sobs to increase, becoming uncontrollable._

Dawn shot straight up in the guest bed, tears streaming down her face, breathing heavily and covers tossed to the side of the bed in her frantic turning.

"Oh god. It was a nightmare, that's all."

She hugged her knees to her chest and dried her face with the edge of the cover as she tried to calm down.

"Oh Lord Death have mercy, I'm neck deep in the biggest predicament of my LIFE."

Attempting to return to a hopefully more peaceful sleep, Liz's words were no longer the ones bouncing through Dawn's head. Instead they were the words she realized she had been about to say by the dying Kid's side.

_'I love you.'_

**Author's Note: (AKA: The important yet often overlooked shiz) **

**HOLD UP! Before you go. "Mary-sue! She is suddenly like 'I lurvs you Kiddo!' Let me explain. Dawn has started liking him through this whole thing. She just hasn't realized it till now (why the chap is called realization) because she is one of those people who can be really perceptive with other people, but are completely oblivious when it comes to themselves.**

**Second manner of business. *smacks myself* BAD CHILD! You resorted to such a cliché ending! Get out of my sight! Don't you stand in front of a mirror for another week, I don't want to even look at you! Oh god… sugar rush? I don't even know. Went to a Halloween party last night, then a tea party themed sweet sixteen for one of my friends. One of the girls got her a themed gift, it was a tea pot that said "Keep Calm and Drink Tea". Pure win. We were talking in horribly faked british accents the whole time, then played Just Dance 4. We are some crazy weird girls but it's awesome.**

**Lastly and most importantly, I'm thinking about re-doing the summary for this story so I need help from you guys, my readers! I need to know what kind of things interest and draw you in to read stories on here! PLEASE? **

**~Vi**

**Ps: **For future Halloween reference, do not trust teen boys in gorilla masks. Jerks stole me and 5 of my friend's communal candy bag. Jerks. Now all six of us have no candy. When we saw it was missing my steam-punk dressed friend ran down the road to try and find them but they were long gone. He said he wanted to beat them up, not for the candy so much as the fact that they stole… Then at the Halloween party he chased me around with a children's doctor's set needle he found in the host's parent's daycare screaming "Someone grab her! I need to give her the apocalypse vaccine!" (I went as a zombie cheerleader) And these few crazy happenings plus more are responsible for my slow updating. Now I'm rambling, goodnight or morning or afternoon. Depending when you read this.


	20. 19: Making Plans

_**The DSM?**_

This is what happens:

**Me:** Yes! Today I will work on the DSM!

**Life:** Aw that's cute, you think you getting work done huh? Hahahahaha NO!

**Me:** *buried in an avalanche of homework, chores and extra-curricular duties*

_Later…_

**Me:** *works my way out* Ok! Now I'll work on it! *picks up paper and a pen*

**Life:** DENIED! *sends next wave*

Hoped you found that amusing cause it's very real and non-amusing to me. On to the long awaited chapter 19 so I can start 20 right now while I still have some time. Oh yeah, and you may be upset to know just when Dawn realizes her feelings… TIME SKIP! I know, I'm evil. PLEASE DON'T HURT ME!

**Chapter 19: Making Plans**

It was a whole six weeks before Dawn was able to have the cast removed and ditch the crutches. She had been greatly excited to finally walk completely on her own again. In the meantime the DWMA students were being constantly dispatched to many locations to take care of the growing numbers of madness wavelength related incidents. For example, the very next day after Dawn had went back to the apartment and realized just how she truly felt towards Kid, all three of her meister friends and their partners had left to deal with their own sets of disturbances. It left Dawn alone to think everything over which she was grateful for, however she was called out of her last few minutes of classes to speak with Lord Death which also had the upside of taking her away from the curious stares she was receiving from her classmates. He described to her his soul projection theory and the girl was very skeptical at first but he had promised not to start until her leg was healed. Now was that time and she was standing in the death room with him in his mirror.

"Try again." Death's image urged calmly from the mirror surface.

Dawn narrowed her eyes at her hand that was held up facing her. A few tense moments ticked by as her hand twitched in unseen concentration and her lips curved down into a scowl. When yet more time had gone by, Dawn threw her hand back down to her side angrily.

"I can't do it!"

The gentle thud of the heels of her boots was the only following sound as she walked to sit at the edge of the stage, her back to the mirror. With her head in her hands she sighed.

"Yes you can Dawn."

"Do you even realized what you're asking me to do!?" she snapped, voice raising through her frustrated yell.

"I believe I do indeed realize it, it was my theory after all."

"I know." Dawn spoke much quieter than before. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have snapped like that, much less to you of all people."

Lord Death's chuckling caused her to turn her torso so she could face the mirror again.

"How many times must I tell you Dawn? I don't want you to treat me like Lord Death, the grim reaper. Just as Death, a trusted friend."

"More times than you think apparently."

"Regardless. This will only work if you can calm yourself." His voice returned to it's neutral tone. "Your wavelength will not be able to sustain such a change in it's normal pattern if your emotions are in control, you should know that. What is one of the most important rules of battle strategy I've been teaching you all this time?"

Dawn stood up, turned fully, and walked back to the mirror. Without hesitation she recited one of the main points Lord Death had been repeating to her for as long as she could remember.

"While in a fight keep your emotions in check. Focus solely on the battle, distraction can become fatal mistakes."

"The same thing applies here, especially since you may end up having to use it in a fight." He responded, nodding his approval of her recited lesson and getting a proud smile from Dawn in return.

"Now let's try again."

Taking a deep breath, Dawn closed her eyes and let her palm lay flat in front of her, turned up towards the ceiling. A small, faint, and almost electrical feeling at the tips of her fingers drew Dawn's attention back to her hand as she opened her eyes. To her excitement, the ends of her fingers had lit up with the same purple glow that usually came before she used soul force. It was one of very few time she managed to bring it forward without it being an involuntary reaction when scared or an instinct when fighting.

"Ok." She took another breath to calm herself and prevent from getting too excited. "What's next?"

"The next step is to discharge the separate wavelength you've built up in your hand and transfer it to another object…"

"Well I already have done that…" she said, looking confused before her expression turned to disbelieving shock when he continued.

"… without touching the other object. I want you to attempt indirect transfer instead of your normal direct approach."

"B-but… that's one of the purposes of a weapon! I can't do that by myself!"

Dawn was shocked and confused to say the least. Lord Death was basically asking her to do the same thing that Kid did with Liz and Patty but she had to do it without a weapon partner to channel and amplify her wavelength. Lord Death seemed to either read further into her words or understand exactly the path her thoughts had turned to from her face as he kept talking.

"You don't require a weapon to channel your wavelength, at least not to the surface of your skin as you are able to manipulate it's physical manifestation yourself." He gestured to her still 'charged' hand. "As for amplification, I think your wavelength's size itself will more than make up for it. All that is left is the process of getting it to leave your body without something else to immediately transfer to."

Dawn attempted to do so though her frustration over the seeming impossibility of what she was being asked to do distracted her concentration and the light faded away. Looking back up at Death, she saw him watching her quietly.

"Let me guess… again?"

He nodded, her sighing in return.

"Again it is."

About an hour and a half later Dawn emerged from the room tired but with a small victory to show for her efforts. She had in fact been able to get a part of her wavelength to exit her body and go into the air even if it only was a small bit from her finger that faded almost instantly. According to Death though that was going to be the most difficult part to accomplish. Dawn just had to get to the point where she could project a larger amount for a long enough time to hit something with it. The next two hours were spent with Sid and Nygus, training in a much more physically draining way.

"Woah!"

Dawn jumped back as Sid swung Nygus at her and barely escaped the blade tip.

"The first rule of combat." Sid spoke as he continued swiping at her. "Always your first priority should be to avoid taking a hit. If you get hit it slows down your reaction time and dazes you, opening you up to be injured more and you will start losing, fast."

She flipped backwards onto her hands in a handstand and allowed her torso to press as close to the ground as possible so she could push back up with enough force to send herself into another flip onto her feet. The distance Dawn put between herself and Sid was quickly lost soon after when he ran forward with a speed she didn't know he had.

"Geez, it's just training Sid… If I didn't know better I'd think you were really trying to cut me." Dawn laughed nervously as she ducked below another swipe.

"I was never the type of man to hold back."

She paled at the simple statement but continued avoiding Nygus then went to punch Sid, only to have her fist grabbed and her arm twisted, flipping her onto her back on the floor.

"Second rule of combat, attack only when you have a large enough opening, a gap in your enemy's defense."

Dawn let out a startled squeak and rolled out of the way just in time to avoid being crushed under Sid as he jumped onto the ground where she had just been laying. This continued for the duration of their session, Dawn dodging, attacking, being deterred, then it started all over again.

"Maybe next time you'll be able to land a hit." Sid commented and Nygus turned back to her human form.

"Hopefully." Dawn muttered back as she stretched.

Leaving the room, she continued stretching out her sore muscles. Midway through a stretch she caught sight of Liz, Kid, Patty, Maka and Soul standing in front of the assignment board. She smirked as she saw another opportunity present itself.

It was approximately two weeks ago that Dawn had tried to startle Kid and failed horribly. Her only reason for doing so had been to get him back for the times he had startled her and she was willingly to leave her failure at that until he purposely retaliated. Immediately after Dawn had turned to him and said, _"You know you've just made it my personal mission to, in some way, surprise you right?" _His only response had been a challenging smirk and a simple, _"Good luck with that."_

With that scene replaying through her mind, Dawn snuck towards the group until she was behind them, pushing aside her thoughts of just how much he made her stomach flip with the way he had challenged her with her own reprimanding thoughts of _'Bad Dawn! Stop it!'_

"Hey guys!" she exclaimed loud and excitedly.

Liz screamed and everyone else whipped around to stare at her with wide eyes… except Kid. He continued browsing over the board, uninterrupted other than the barely held back grin at Dawn's attempt and the overly calm response he gave.

"Hello Dawn."

"Damn it!"

Kid turned to look at Dawn who stared back at him with a mock glare.

"You won't look so darn smug when I finally get the drop on you."

"You mean **if** you finally surprise me." He retorted, grin widening.

Just when Dawn was about to respond, she could have sworn she had heard someone calling her name. Turning her head to look down the hall in the direction it came from, she saw Spirit waving his arms wildly at her and resisted the sudden urge to roll her eyes with a bit of difficulty. She figured she might as well go see what he wanted, after all he was Lord Death main weapon partner and it could be something important.

"See you all later, I should see what he wants."

Waving at her present friends who waved back, Dawn jogged over to see what exactly it was Spirit wanted. Kid watched her leave until she reached him and turned back to Liz, Patty, Maka and Soul who was first to speak.

"Since when are Dawn and Spirit even getting along? I thought they'd be at least a little sore with each other after the way they met and especially lately after he practically handed her over to her parents." He remarked as he watched when the death scythe said something to the young girl that made her smile in return.

Kid clenched his fists and frowned at being reminded just how Dawn had ended up in that situation, under the supposed-to-be-watchful eye of his father's partner. He knew his dad had a very thorough discussion with Spirit after he had found out. Maka however, just smiled kindly.

"I just think neither of them have it in themselves to hold grudges."

"Maybe not Dawn." Liz commented. "But your dad still seems to both hate and be afraid of Stein because of the experiments he apparently did."

"No… I think he's only scared. No hate, just fear." Maka laughed with Liz.

"I don't possibly see how you figured that out. He only cowers and cries at any mention of him." Soul quipped sarcastically.

A few more remarks were exchanged until Maka caught sight of a clock on the wall.

"Oh no! I have to get home. It's my turn to make dinner and if I don't get back soon I won't have time to make it."

"Yeah, then I won't have anything to eat!" Soul said in mock panic, earning a giggle from Patty and an eye roll from his partner.

The two left and Kid went back to scanning the mission board for the next assignment he would take on, ignoring the sisters as they talked to themselves.

"You really think it's ok to talk about this so close to Kid sis?" Patty asked curiously.

Liz just brushed it off, not concerned. "It's fine, he's zoned out. I just wish he'd stop being so blind."

"But Kid can see just fine."

"Not like that Patty." She shook her head when her sister took her remark too literal. "I mean I wish he'd see what is obviously going on subconsciously between himself and Dawn."

"What about Dawn?"

Patty seemed to be full of questions though Liz didn't seem to mind.

"Oh she's realized how she feels alright." She cast a smirk in the girl's direction. "The change may have been small but she is starting to act a bit different around him, as much as she is trying to hide it. Now it's only a matter of time before he notices the change, his own feelings, or she tells him. I just have to wait, too bad I really don't like waiting."

(...)

"So what's up?" Dawn asked when she reached Spirit.

"Lord Death would like you to come in tomorrow too, even though it's Saturday. After talking with Sid they both decided you should continue while you're starting to get a grip on things."

She looked at him in obvious surprise with a bit of nervous anticipation. "Wait, do you…?"

"No, Lord Death wouldn't tell me exactly what you were training on with him."

"Oh… ok. You can tell them I'll be here then."

Dawn had almost turned and left when Spirit stopped her by grabbing her arm.

"Listen Dawn… I'm sorry about the parents thing. I just love my own daughter so much that the idea of a parent so much as raising a hand to their child is unfathomable to me. If I had known…"

"But you didn't know." She gave him an encouraging smile. "I would never blame anyone for something they were not aware of. I have no doubt you never would have let them near me if you did in fact know the kind of things they did and continued to do."

The smile he returned to her made her instantly aware that they had come to an understanding of the situation and it was smoothed over. They finished up the plans for Dawn's training the next day then Spirit left to discuss them with Lord Death. When she turned back around she saw Soul and Maka had left, and Liz was watching her with a smirk that gave Dawn the sinking feeling Liz was planning something that she wasn't going to like.

**Author's Note: I'm tired and drained so let's make this quick. I've been swamped, will probably continued to be swamped but I'll try my hardest to update faster as usual. I'll start working on 20 tomorrow and I know I didn't post review responses but once again, I'm incredibly tired. So just thanks to anyone who reviewed, favourited, and/or subscribed. Digital hugs through the internet for all of you! Any questions or anything feel free to pm me or ask it in a review since the button is right below this.**


	21. 20: Moving Forward or Stepping Back?

_**The DSM?**_

Merry Christmas everyone! And if you don't celebrate Christmas than have a wonderful Tuesday ;) Today, (Christmas Eve/December 24th) marks a full year since I published the prologue on December 24th, 2011.

Appalling that it's taken so long for 20 chapters I know, but grade 11 is hard, especially when you've got university level math, English and biology in one semester but I'm trying guys, really. Besides, after break I only have three weeks left (including exams) then I'm on to my super easy semester and writing will pick up for sure with the lack of homework I'll have in comparison! Just hang on everyone, not too much longer.

PS: This picks up right after last chapter so you may or may not want to re-read the last bit or so to jog your memory.

**Chapter 20:**** Moving Forward or Stepping Back?**

Dawn walked over to Liz and Patty cautiously; unable to help feeling a little wary of the way Liz had been smirking at her. Looks like that were never good news.

"So what did Spirit want?"

Patty's question cause Kid to turn as he noticed that Dawn had rejoined them and waited for her to answer, interested in hearing what it was she had been called away for.

"Just setting plans to train more with Sid and Death tomorrow."

"Aw that's too bad." Liz pouted, followed by Patty.

"Yeah! We were going to invite you over to hang out at the mansion with us."

Kid's eyes widened a little as he turned to his partners are peered at them quizzically. This had obviously been news to him though Dawn didn't notice while she thought about the exact nature of her plans for the next day.

"Well…" she started, still not noticing as the sisters watched her expectantly. "My sessions are fairly early in the morning so I'm free in the afternoon."

Dawn knew instantly she'd walked directly into some type of trap by the reappearance of Liz's smirk.

"Great! We'll see you around one then, ok? Come on Patty!"

Liz practically dragged an excitedly giggling Patty away to, Dawn assumed, the mansion. Leaving her alone with Kid in the hall. The two exchanged looks of suspicious concern.

"I'm trying to decide if I even want to know what that was about."

When she looked back to Kid, his expression had turned to one of lingering confusion though overall he seemed to be fine with the arrangement. It made Dawn think if maybe he had long gotten used to the girls doing things like this even if the mansion wasn't their own to invite people to or have parties at. She got the feeling that he was quite interested in knowing what they were up to and it was that feeling that she chose to voice.

"You really want to find out what they're up to don't you?"

He flashed her a grin, which was obviously meant to confirm her question though she could have sworn he appeared to have another motive that she couldn't figure out, something about it that he wasn't telling her. His smile and the way he looked at her in general was almost too innocent. Similar to the I'm-about-to-ask-you-for-a-favour type of exaggerated innocence. Dawn turned her head slightly, looking at him at a side angle with narrowed eyes.

"What is it?"

"Well…" he dragged it on, as if he didn't want to say it at all.

"Spit it out Kid."

"I was planning to get to the mansion before them…"

"And spy on them to figure out what it is they are doing." Dawn finished for him, getting a nod in return. "Let me guess, you want me to be your 'spying partner'?"

"Well it would appear to concern you most of all…"

"Don't try to make excuses reaper, let's just go."

The words themselves may have been interpreted as harsh had Kid not heard the teasing tone or saw Dawn roll her eyes humorously and the corner of her lips twitch in a barely suppressed smile. Even the twitch though stopped after a second and something seemed to cross her mind that concerned her.

"They've already got a good head start, how are we going to get there before them?"

"Easy."

With his palm facing the ground, Kid brought out his skateboard. Dawn watched with the same wide grin on her face as always.

"That never gets old."

"I'm glad it doesn't."

Kid seemed truly glad and before Dawn had time to question it, he got on top of the board and nodded to the space behind him.

"You coming?"

"Uh… yeah."

Dawn stepped onto the board behind him and after a quick remark from Kid that she better hold on unless she wanted to fall off, wrapped her arms around him in a backwards hug. Her carefully loose grip tightened when they got in the air and picked up speed, she could have sworn she saw him smirk. The scoff and joking comment made their way out of her mouth before she had time to think it over.

"You're enjoying this aren't you?"

Her response came in the gentle rise and fall of his chest and shoulders in what she assumed was silent laughter and she heard him answer with a quiet, "Maybe."

…..

Not long later they landed outside the mansion and after Kid smoothes out the wrinkles in his suit jacket that Dawn made from holding on so tightly, the two of them entered and started looking for a place to hide.

"How are we even supposed to know where they are going to go to talk or whatever!"

"I'm willing to bet they'll talk in their room."

Kid led Dawn to the room and after hiding themselves inside the not so neat closet and distracting Kid from the mess, Dawn mumbled sarcastically.

"Because this isn't creepy at all."

A minute or so of silence passed and Dawn was about to suggest they just give up when they both heard the distanced sound of the front door opening then closing followed by two sets of footsteps steadily getting louder. Holding her breath, she heard them stop then watched through the slitted closet doors as the sisters walked in and Liz shut the door behind them. Patty giggled excitedly per usual and ran, jumping up onto the bed.

"This is gonna be awesome!" she squealed, voice rising in pitch.

The only acknowledgement Liz gave was rolling her eyes and sitting down on the bed. She held her sister down from jumping anymore, forcing Patty to sit somewhat calmly on the bed beside her.

"Listen Patty, you have to follow the plan exactly tomorrow or it won't work, understand?"

"I understand sis!"

Patty was grinning ear to ear and squirming in the spot she was being confined to. Unfortunately for Dawn and Kid, the girls seemed to have discussed the actual details on their way to the house as if they had anticipated they would be spied on and with the way they knew Kid was, they probably had. A couple of times as they waited for a chance to leave Dawn had almost knocked something over and given their hiding spot away only to proceed mumbling about bring klutzy, and stupid, evil closets.

Kid raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "Evil closets?"

"Yeah." Dawn continued her rant glaring at the closet door. "I've strongly disliked them ever since my own tried to bury me alive."

Kid's hand went to his mouth in a flash to stop the snort of laughter at her comment but he had great difficulty hiding the humor he found in the idea of the situation. However, even if Dawn didn't find it nearly as funny she at least didn't get mad at him for thinking so. She settled for scowling in mock annoyance.

"I'm s-sorry… It's just-"

His stammered laughing was cut off as Dawn shoved him with her shoulder and he fell into a pile of the girls' clothes. On instinct, he reached out for something to stop his fall and his grip ended up on Dawn's wrist, pulling her down with him. When she reopened her eyes, she was greeted with Kid's wide-eyed stare as he watched her for her own reaction. She didn't look away though, she didn't need to. All she needed to know was her own position to deduce that they were in (more or less) a 'twister repeat'. Only this time she was on top of Kid with a hand on either side of his head and knees on either side of his abdomen.

Instantly, the strength gain in Dawn's arms became extremely helpful as she pushed herself away with enough force to put her in a standing position again. Too shocked to notice, she was unaware of Kid slowly standing up beside her, curiously watching as her expression changed with her thoughts.

'Idiot!' A small part of her thoughts cursed her actions. 'You should have used the shock as an excuse to stay there longer!'

Of course, Dawn did her best to push those thoughts to the back of her mind though not before a bright crimson made it's presence known on her cheeks. At this, Kid smirked and decided it was about time to bring her back to the world of the aware.

"Funny how we keep ending up in these situation huh?"

Before she was able to respond, the lights to the room were shut off and they were shrouded in darkness. Dawn became suddenly aware of something touching her hand and she jumped, a small sound of surprise escaping her.

"Shh… It's just me." Kid's whispered voice came from not far to her right at the same time she identified the feeling of a hand interlocking fingers with her own. "We'll wait for a moment to make sure they fall asleep then we'll sneak out."

A moment felt like hours to Dawn while she stood silently, the only proof of time passing at all being the calming tapping of Kid's fingertips on the back of her hand. When they finally managed to sneak back out of Liz and Patty's room, Kid still kept a hold on her hand while they walked down the hall. The 'larger than she'd like to admit' part of Dawn was squealing in hopes that it was more than a simple friendly comfort gesture. After all, if it was meant as that, he'd have let go after they left the room and returned to the lit hallway or at least that was what Dawn was thinking.

Her thoughts were again interrupted by Kid but this time because he stopped and turned to her, smiling.

"It's getting late, you can feel free to stay in the guest room if you'd like."

"That's a sweet offer, really but Maka and Soul are probably wondering where I am. I should be getting back."

His smile faded immediately.

"Medusa is still out there you know."

Just by his tone, Dawn could almost hear the 'and I don't trust anyone else to make sure she doesn't get her filthy hands on you again.' Not sure if she was even supposed to know what he left unsaid, she didn't mention that part.

"I know. Trust me Kid, I'll be fine."

Dawn gave him an innocent smile and tilted her head down to look up at him in a way to further the intended effect. She watched multiple emotions flicker across his face until he sighed in defeat.

"Fine."

Squeezing her hand tighter, he led her towards the front door soundlessly. Dawn was about to leave but stopped when Kid looked about to say something. He stopped himself however and she took her cue to be on her way, finding that she hated having to let go of his hand. Kid watched as she walked away with her hands in her pockets and even for a minute after she disappeared from sight.

…..

Dawn snuck into the apartment as best she could but out of nowhere, she was met with the feeling of a blade pressed to her throat. She yelped but was cut off by a harshly demanded question.

"Who are you?"

"D-Dawn Law.." she stammered automatically.

"Dawn?"

She shut her eyes from the blinding flood of light the room was suddenly filled with and when she opened them again, she watched as Soul turned back to his human form to stand casually by Maka looking slightly annoyed. Dawn dropped to her knees and stared up at the two.

"Dear Lord! You two scared the daylights out of me!"

"That was the point." Soul drawled.

Dawn sighed. "If at any point in the future, I doubt my safety here in the slightest bit, remind me of what an idiot I am will ya?"

"Sure thing." Soul mumbled and walked away with his hands behind his head. "I'm going back to sleep."

Maka, on the other hand, was not so quick to let it go. Her eyes narrowed at Dawn as she gave minimal acknowledgement to Soul leaving.

"Where were you?"

"I was uh… at the mansion."

"What mansion?"

"Oh…" she laughed, realizing her mistake of being too vague. "I mean Kid's place… you know, the gallows mansion."

Dawn's laughter turned nervous while she began inching her way around Maka and to the hall.

"What exactly were you doing-"

At that, Dawn was greeted with the image of herself nearly lying on top of Kid in the darkness of Liz and Patty's closet and her face returned to the bright crimson shade from not so long ago.

"Goodnight Maka!" she called loudly to cut Maka's question off and dashed for the room she was staying in.

"Hey!" Maka yelled after her at the same time Dawn slammed the door behind herself and flew onto the bed, unable to get the image to leave her mind.

**Sorry, got to cut it off there. **

**HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE! **

**From myself and Dawn as well.**

**Dawn:** Wait a sec, weren't you going to make a Christmas one-shot in the "DSM"-verse?

_**Yeah, well I ran out of time to get this on for X-mas eve. Why? Wanted to get Kiddo under the mistletoe? ;)**_

**Dawn: **WHAT?! N-NO! I…I…

_**Don't BS me child, I created you. I know EVERYTHING about you. EVERYTHING! *evil laughter* *sings next part* OH KID!**_

**Dawn:** Don't you dare-

**Kid:** What..? How did I get here?

_**Dawn wants to-**_

**Dawn:** *covers Kid's eyes* Don't look at what she types! She lies!

**Kid:** Okay..? *gets poofed back to death city*

**Dawn:** I hate you.

**_Awww. Come give your creator a hug!_**

**Dawn:** No.

**_*Runs after Dawn* But it's the holiday!_**

**Dawn:** Get away from me!

**Yeah…. So have a wonderful day people! Best wishes once again for the holiday season!**

_**~Vi**_


	22. NOTICE

**NOTICE:**

Oh. My. God.

Was going to type up the next chapter so I could post it tonight, went into my backpack to get it… I LEFT THE DARN WRITTEN DRAFT IN MY OTHER BINDER THAT I LEFT AT SCHOOL!

I'm raging on myself, didn't think it was physically possible for me to get so distracted I'd leave something THAT IMPORTANT at school! Damn it!

*sigh* So I guess I'll just give you the quick update n' shiz I would have put in an author's note.

Well first off, I got the entire Soul Eater series on DVD for Christmas so that was a good thing. Since then I've watched the whole series through at least twice. Last week at dance class I was reminded of Kidd when my dance teacher started ranting…

_Teacher: ok so today we are working on places… you two *points to two boys in the class* are going to be back center. You will always be in the center together or on opposite sides. It's perfect because you're about the same height and this way we can make the positions symmetrical. I love symmetry, symmetry is our friend in this class and you shall always be placed symmetrically._

On that note, about a week ago my little sister came to me and said, "Dana, put your hands on the table and **don't look**." When she finally permitted me to look at my hands she hand painted them black, with death's mask on the thumbs and three white stripes on the right half of all my other nails… She's pretty awesome. Oh and she also painted my toes to look like Ragnarok, Stein stitches, and Chrona's bloody needles too.

Broadening our topic to anime in general, I'm going to ConG at the end of February! I was going to dress up as Maka until the cosplay price jumped and I'm not sure if I am comfortable with the price anymore… May go as someone else, possibly Allen Walker. Which brings me to one of the final things I wish to let you know. My newest anime obsession is D-Gray Man! I'm still in the "dear lord this is the most wonderful thing in the world I love it so damn much!" phase. It'll dim down after awhile like the other shows I've watched, I'm sure. If you haven't seen it, I strongly recommend you go check it out, Todd Haberkorn voices Allen btw ;) Actually come to think of it, a lot of Soul Eater voice actors are in D-Gray Man as well…

**NOW DSM STUFF!**

Only a few chapters left… I plan on ending it after the kishin battle which is after another chapter or two plus a short time skip and Kidd and Dawn will probably reveal feelings for each other right after the battle with the whole "oh shit I almost died without telling you" kind of thing. BUT NOT TO WORRY! I have a sequel planned *evil laughter*. Thinking of the title "Love is Insanity" maybe… maybe not. If you want me to give you an over-view or quick preview or something I'd actually kinda be ecstatic from the show of interest. I'm quite proud of the idea :D

LASTLY, I've got a sketch of Dawn n' this adorable chibi picture of Kidd and Dawn that I'll be posting to be DA soon so if you're on deviantart and haven't already, I'd love if you'd visit my profile and I'd be crazy happy if you 'watched' me. Even if you're not a deviantart member you can still by all means go take a look through my gallery for the pics I've done in the past, you just can't 'watch' me to be notified when I post something new is all.

My deviantart account name is "TheMelodyOfTheSoul" (Since I can't put links here, think there is one on my profile though)

I hope you are all okay with this little mess up and are willing to wait one last day for the next chapter! Love all my loyal readers!

~Vi


	23. 21: Liz's Plan (Part I)

_**The DSM?**_

**Chapter 21:**** Liz's Plan (Part I)**

The next morning Dawn woke up extra early for two reasons. First, she wanted to get to her 'practices' a few minutes beforehand and secondly because she had a feeling Maka still wanted to know what she had been doing at Kidd's place. That was still something she did not want to talk about. It worked in her favor that it was Saturday because if it had been a weekday, Maka would have been up getting ready for classes at an ungodly hour. At least, it would have been an ungodly hour for Dawn who was far from a morning person and now, despite the reasons, regretting her decision to get up early.

"Damn." She mumbled, rubbing at her eyes.

Dawn was walking down the empty street from Soul and Maka's place still attempting to wake fully.

"I know!" she snapped her fingers as the idea came to her. "If I jog the distance to the academy then I should be awake enough for when I train without being so snappy!"

With a hint of a smile Dawn pulled out her ipod and her pair of earphones identical to her brother's. Turning it on, she slipped the ipod into her pocket again and put in the earphones, music blasting. As she jogged the uphill distance to the DWMA, Dawn's mood slowly started to lift and she found her smile growing along the way.

…

Lord Death stood with Stein in the death room as Stein explained his newest theory regarding Dawn's soul.

"I think her soul does the same thing I can do by canceling out wavelengths but as an automatic and subconscious action. She doesn't have to even think about it, her soul's wavelength just matches itself immediately to any other wavelength she comes into contact with."

"Do you have any guesses as to why that is yet?" Death asked curiously.

"None yet." He muttered, lighting a cigarette. Taking a long draw of it then breathing out the smoke and continuing. "But whatever part of her it is that does this still can't react fast enough since it's unconscious and I suspect a small fraction of the offending wavelength still has an affect. Though, because it is only a small amount I believe that it doesn't hurt her so much as accounts for the 'tickling' feeling she informed me of getting after I hit her with my own wavelength."

Lord Death nodded and waved Stein away.

"You've been working hard lately Stein, perhaps you should go home now."

He wordlessly obeyed, leaving into the halls just as Dawn came up to the death room door.

"Good morning professor." She said with a smile and nod of her head.

"Morning Dawn."

She didn't hear his response however, the earphones still in and music loud. It was not loud enough to be heard by those around her, unlike it was with the volume Justin normally had his turned up to. Though that would not be necessary as she was humming the tune and practically skipping down the guillotine path. By the time Dawn reached the stage the song playing ended and she pulled out the earphones, slinging the cord around her neck.

"Hey hey hey! How's it going? Good to see ya!" Death greeted her eloquently as ever, bouncing a little as he spoke.

"Everything is just fine Death and it's good to see you too."

"Only fine?" he tilted his head to the side.

Dawn looked as if she even had to think about it herself.

"Well… yeah. I mean, it's not like anything particularly wonderful not upsetting has happened lately so it's just fine." She shrugged.

"I see." He murmured before continuing in his exceptionally cheery voice again. "Listen Dawn, there is something I wanted to talk to you about. Why I kept you out of the battle for Brew."

He took a short pause during which Dawn's expression turned confused while she watched him carefully.

"I know you think that you were kept back because of your injury, but you need to know the truth that even if you had been well you would not have been permitted to join the fight. I don't think you completely understand just how tough the opponents you would have faced are."

She listened silently, head bowed and looking at her feet.

"You've got an excellent grip of the study of souls **(A/N: sorry, forgot what the technical name for it is.)**, rivaled only by Kidd and the top students of your class, Maka and Ox, but you've got a long way to go with your fighting skills, namely offense."

Dawn looked back up just as Death reached out with one finger to tap the top of her head.

"You have all the moves and techniques you need in here, now you've just got to learn how to use them."

After she nodded her understanding, Lord Death bounce back a few feet and clapped his large hands together.

"Good! Now how about you show me you can justify that title of yours hmm?"

It was ten o' clock when Dawn finished in the death room. She left with a determined expression and purposeful stride.

'_I __can__ fight, I will __not__ be left behind! I will __not__ stand idly by while my friends and brother risk their lives!"_

Walking into the assigned training room, she was greeted by Sid and Nygus again. No one seemed willing to waste time so Nygus wordlessly turned into her knife form being caught expertly by an equally silent Sid. He read the sudden jump in her determination and planned on making full use of it.

Lunging forward, Sid went to stab Dawn who waited until the last possible second and rolled off to the side. Nygus ended up halfway through the door and the moment of hesitation Sid took to pull her out was exactly what Dawn was counting on as she stood back up. She lept towards Sid and he swung Nygus around with him as he turned to face her. Little did he know he was playing right into Dawn's plan, doing exactly what it is she predicted he would. Instantly her forearm met his, blocking his swipe from going any further and she immediately followed it by grabbing his hand with her other one. Twisting his arm, she threw him off balance and tripped him over her foot which she had slipped behind his heel without him seeing. Before he even made it to the ground Dawn somersaulted with her hands on his stomach, slamming him into the ground and releasing soul-force at the same time.

"Well this is a surprise." Sid groaned but pulled himself up with only little hesitation in his movements from the dull pain that remained after her attack.

Dawn watched him stand silently and locked gazes with him for a moment. Looking at her, Sid noticed the look in her eyes and would have smirked if he could. She had managed to figure out how to make the moves taught her become reality.

"You're stepped up your game huh? No going easy from here on out, I'll treat this like a real fight."

With that, he lunged for her once again.

…

Liz stood in her room talking to Lord Death through her mirror.

"Thanks again Lord Death."

He nodded. "It was no problem but I still do not see why you wanted so much for me to tell Dawn about why she was left out of the battle for Brew."

"Oh don't worry about it sir, it will all fall into place soon enough."

"Huh?"

The last thing Liz saw before she cut the connection was Lord Death's head tilting nearly a full ninety degrees to one side in his confusion.

…

Dawn got out of her training session breathing heavily and wiping sweat from her forehead.

"I need to work no pacing myself. All that and I still didn't even win!"

She made it to the entrance of the academy and looked up at a clock on the wall to see it was 12:50, she had gone overtime on her session with Sid without even knowing it. Her eyes widened and she ran out, going down the front steps as quickly as she could without risking falling down.

"Shit shit shit shit!" she repeated, each word matching a footstep as she reached the bottom and took off down the street. "I'm going to be late!"

…

"Did you do it?"

Patty nodded excitedly. "He's already noticed and has started fixing the symmetry in the sitting room. We have to be fast though, he's gotten pretty quick at it."

There was a knock on the door making Liz smirk when she heard it.

"Phase three is a go."

"Right!" Patty saluted her older sister and skipped off to the door. "Hey Dawn!" she sang, ripping the door open with a force that contradicted her cheery and childlike attitude.

Dawn could only nod her acknowledgment to her and Liz as she came up behind her little sister.

"One o' clock on the dot. Great timing."

"Sorry." She mumbled, catching her breath. "But I accidentally went overtime on my session and had to run. I'm a mess."

Liz waved it off. "You can just take a quick shower in mine and Patty's en-suite if you'd like."

She was about to decline when Patty jumped in.

"Yeah! Kidd's busy right now anyway so we've got some time before we start!"

"What are we doing anyw-"

Dawn's question was cut off as Patty dragged her away down the hall. She was carted away just in time before Kidd was heard muttering in the other room about ungrateful weapons and the injustice of wrong and asymmetrically placed objects. With a grin that would have made the Cheshire cat proud, Liz sat down to get into to character. There were so many ways that her plan could cross the line into something more than a harmless attempt to make Kidd realize what was going on and Dawn to act upon the feelings that Liz was sure she was aware of, but Liz didn't care at this point. She was far too frustrated with the amount of time it was taking and if it did cross the line to something not so innocent then so be it.

Patty practically threw Dawn into the bathroom attached to her and Liz's room, slamming the door behind her. She didn't leave until she heard the shower curtain pull closed and the water start. Smirking evilly, Patty twirled the arm sleeve Dawn hadn't noticed her take before letting it drift to the floor on her way out. Letting the water rinse away her sweat and all traces of her practice, Dawn ran her fingers through her hair and closed her eyes, a quiet sigh escaping her.

"Liz and Patty are acting weirder than normal… I wonder what's going on to make them act like this."

…

It wasn't much longer before Kidd came back out of the room to find Liz and Patty lounging on a pair of chairs beside each other. While Patty was rather convincingly taking a nap on the one chair, Liz was examining her nails intently on the other, only glancing up slightly when she heard Kidd return.

"Hey, get my nails clippers from my room will you?"

"What?!" Kidd began ranting, angry that he had to fix the symmetry that Patty had massacred. "Why should I? You can get your own nail clippers, you have two working legs don't you?! So why should I have to be the one-"

Holding up one hand in a bored fashion Liz cut off his ranting.

"I've simply had enough of your symmetry rants for one day and I want to trim my nails without having you complain about them being uneven. Therefore I'm going to let you do them for once. You're cutting them so you're getting them. Unless of course you're okay if they end up uneven."

Kidd glared at her with an intensity that probably could have made even his father flinch.

"Fine, whatever." He ground out angrily and stomped away towards the girls' room. When he entered the room he was surprised to see one of Dawn's arm sleeves laying on the floor.

'_How could this have gotten here?' _he wondered as he knelt to pick it up.

Just before his fingers had the chance to grasp the black and white striped fabric Dawn stepped out from the attached bathroom holding a towel around herself. Their eyes locked for a split second before they both turned away, blushing and embarrassed.

'_I see, I'm willing to bet Liz had something, If not everything to do with this.'_

"I just uh… noticed I was missing an arm sleeve and came looking for it. You w-wouldn't happen to know where it is would you?"

Kidd stood, bringing the article up in his hand and he held it out wordlessly, still unable to look back in her direction. The movement caught Dawn's attention from the corner of her eye and she shuffled forward to grab it, proceeding to back slowly into the bathroom again with a muttered thank you. Once the door closed Kidd relaxed and let out a breath that, until that moment, was unaware he had been holding. Over the span of a few seconds, that glare he had given Liz earlier reappeared.

"Just what does she think she is doing, setting things like this up?" he whispered harshly. "My patience for these games of hers is wearing thin."

With that he walked out of the room and within a few moments Dawn stepped back out, clothed and with her still half damp hair hanging loose down her back.

"…Kidd?"

Not seeing him, she shrugged to herself and walked out of the room, peering down the hallway. She stopped in her tracks when she heard a loud and firm knock that clearly came from the front entrance.

"I didn't know anyone else was coming too…"

Dawn took off at a light jog towards the front of the manor to see who else would be joining them, dreading and nervous of what else Liz had planned.

**Author TIME!**

**Wow, Kidd are you PMSing or something?**

**Kidd: WHAT?! NO!**

Dawn: I think he might be…

**Kidd: Dawn! **

**Dawn: Ok sorry I take that back.**

**Kidd: Thank you.**

**Dawn: He's just pissy today.**

**Kidd: *facepalm* **

**Patty: *insane laughter* **

**Kidd: This is your fault!**

**So yeah, Kidd lives in a mansion, of course Liz and Patty's room has an en-suite. Your argument is invalid! Oh and yes, I spell Kidd's name with two d's now. I've seen lots of people do that and I actually like it better this way.**

**Liz's plan was in fact for Kidd to see Dawn in only a towel, cause you know, nothing gets your thoughts heading past friendship like seeing a girl fresh out of a shower and wearing nothing but a towel ;D**

**I'VE DECIDED ON TWO SONGS THAT DESCRIBE DAWN'S THOUGHTS TOWARDS KIDD! Go listen to 'Maybe I Love You' by Lenka and 'Perfect' by Pink and you shall know her thoughts exactly! ^w^**

**I'm 99% sure I will be naming the sequel "Love is Insanity" now. **

**Lastly, I NEED YOUR HELP! I'd be forever eternally grateful if you could help me with ideas for the next chapter, I can't tell you much but they will be playing some kind of game though I don't know which game(s). I need ideas from you of what you'd like to see. Truth or dare is a distinct possibility so if they do play it, when questions or dares would you like to see? **

**Love always,**

**~Vi **


	24. 22: Liz's Plan (Part II)

_**The DSM?**_

**Chapter 22:**** Liz's Plan (Part II)**

"Yahoo! No need to fear, the big man is here!"

Dawn's stride came to a stop the second she heard that yell, knowing there was only one person who it could be. It was not a thrilling prospect by any means to her to have Blackstar join them. She could tolerate his rants, sure, but often she found spending too much time with the ego-maniac fried her nerves and wore away her patience. He was one of the very few people who could easily get on Dawn's nerves.

"Why him?" she groaned, cupping her hands over her ears. She could have sworn they were left ringing after his usual 'big entrance'.

Kidd watched as Blackstar strode confidently through the entryway with a suspicious frown. Liz must have had a reason for inviting him over and it only made Kidd more suspicious by the fact that he came alone, Tsubaki was nowhere to be seen. That was when Dawn walked up behind him and took the scene in for herself.

"Where's Tsubaki? I never see those two apart…"

"And she is his 'equalizer' so to speak. I can only imagine what Liz has planned if she only invited him."

"His what now?"

Dawn cocked her head to the side, one eyebrow raised with a small pout, clearly unhappy with being confused. Kidd looked at the young girl beside him from the corner of his vision. 'Huh, cute.' He mused then returned his gaze to the scene before him as Blackstar talked to Liz, suddenly feeling a little self-conscious about explaining his ideology.

"Equalizer, meaning she balances him out. Since Blackstar is so wild and energetic, it only makes sense that someone as calm and timid as Tsubaki is able to calm him down and keep him in check. Thus, maintaining balance."

It took Dawn a few moments to think over what he had just told her, and Kidd began feeling nervous.

"Actually… I think you have a valid point there."

He could only turn to look at her fully and blink in surprise. Laughing, she smirked at him and acted as though his confusion was caused by not hearing what she said, even though she knew that wasn't the case.

"I said, I agree that it is important to have balance." Dawn spoke in the same tone one would use when pretending to speak with a child, slow and steady as if trying to give him a chance to understand the words.

Her tone changed to a far more serious one as she continued, turning away. "Just not the whole, symmetry being important enough to break down crying if something is asymmetrical. I mean, there is such a thing as asymmetrical balance after all."

When Dawn still did not receive any response from Kidd she shrugged and walked off towards where Liz stood with Blackstar, leaving him to his thoughts. Dragging her feet more as she got closer to the two, her previous feelings of dread showed themselves again.

"I see you've finished in the shower."

Liz greeted Dawn politely, acting like she had no idea what had transpired only minutes ago. Dawn however, wasn't buying the innocent act for a second, not that she was about to let Liz in on that fact.

"Yeah." She smiled at Liz. "It was really nice of you two to let me use it, thanks."

"No problem." Liz returned the smile and gestured towards the door leading to the main sitting room. "How about we go sit down and play some games?"

The three of them made their way to the room where Dawn could hear singing coming from and assumed it was Patty waiting for them. If she really strained to listen, she could also hear a pair of soft footfalls behind them which she could only conclude was Kidd following them. It made her wonder just how quiet he could be when he tried. 'No wonder he got the jump on me so many times before…' Dawn had a small 'epiphany' moment. Another topic held her attention afterwards and as they entered the room, she couldn't hold the question in any longer.

"Hey Liz, how come it's only the five of us?"

"Maka stayed home to study for that upcoming test, Soul wanted to come but Maka made him stay back to study too, Tsubaki's running errands, and Chrona wasn't feeling up to dealing with people today. He's at a bit of a low point."

Her automatic response triggered warning bells in Dawn's head, it sounded recited and that didn't sit well with her. Then her mind was drawn to a different subject.

"I can't believe it, but I haven't officially met Chrona yet."

They entered the room to see Patty jumping up and down excitedly on one of the armchairs, belting out the song Dawn had heard earlier. Liz immediately sat on one end of the couch, pulling Dawn forcefully down to sit beside her. The resulting look of annoyance on the meister's face left instantly as Kidd took a seat on the other side of her. At least until Blackstar leapt onto the other end of the couch, effectively squishing Kidd and Dawn in the middle of Liz and himself. The young girl felt her palms become damp in her nervousness and the reaper-in-training she was tightly pressed against frowned in his own annoyance at their newest visitor.

"Blackstar, you are aware of the existence of the second armchair, are you not?"

The assassin either didn't hear him or just decided to ignore Kidd's comment as he leaned to peer at Dawn from around Kidd's form.

"You serious? You really haven't met Chrona?!"

She shook her head, frowning.

"Nope. I've seen him around but we haven't had the chance to talk, hang out or anything."

Suddenly, Patty was off the chair and continued her jumping in front of the group on the couch.

"Let's play something!" she screamed excitedly, blue eyes sparkling.

Dawn narrowed her own eyes, wary. "Like what?"

"Truth or Dare! Truth or Dare!"

"You all can start." Kidd interrupted Patty's chanting, clearly seeing no one would be able to talk her out of it. "I'll go get us drinks."

After everyone told Kidd what they'd like to drink he left into the adjoined kitchen. No one noticed he remained in eyesight as he grabbed glasses out of the cupboard. Back with the rest of the group Patty was still jumping up and down, undeterred.

"I want to go first! Can I? Please? Can I go first?"

"Yes Patty, you can go first." Liz drawled.

"Yay!" she squealed and turned to Blackstar. "Ok! Blackstar, truth or dare?"

"Dare!" he yelled standing up. "The great Blackstar isn't afraid of anything!"

A sinister grin crossed Patty's face, causing Dawn to shrink into the couch cushion subconsciously. Quite frankly, she found it a terrifying expression to see on the usually innocent looking girl. Then again, she was a once feared street thug, Dawn reminded herself, she shouldn't be too surprised.

"I dare you to call Tsubaki…"

"That's hardly a challenge for the great-"

"…and tell her you love her."

Blackstar froze with an unreadable expression on his face, shocking Dawn that he was being so silent.

"Um Patty? I think you broke Blackstar…" Dawn muttered as she reached out to poke his arm but got no reaction.

Realizing they were being set at a stand-still Liz quickly thought of a way to keep things moving.

"If you really don't want to do it Blackstar, I suppose we can give you a once-off."

Patty whined.

"On the condition that you go first in the next activity."

"…Ok…" he mumbled and slowly sat back down.

Apparently that was all the time he needed to recover and he was back to himself again instantaneously. Leaning over to Dawn he grinned widely.

"My turn then. Dawn, truth or dare?"

"If I say truth than you're just going to ask me something embarrassing… so dare."

"Fine." Blackstar acted put off as he turned away with his arms crossed. However, when he turned to smirk at Dawn from over his shoulder, the metaphorical warning bells in her head went off again. "I dare you to answer the question you avoided on your first day at the academy."

"What?"

The bells came to an immediate stop to be replaced by her utter confusion.

"Your first day at the academy, you and I had a little conversation using a balled up piece of paper. I had asked you if you liked Kidd but you simply claimed to be done with talking to me. So I want the answer now."

"Y-you… you can't-! … How did you remember that?!" Dawn whisper shouted in disbelief.

"Memory of a god, Dawn. Memory of a god." He tapped his head with a finger. "Now I'd like my answer. Do you like Kidd? And we both know I don't mean like a friend." Blackstar turned back to face her and slung an arm around her shoulders. "I'm waiting."

Dawn couldn't bring herself to look at him and her eyes focused on everything else in the room as a blush crept it's way onto her face. Her hands played with the hem of her tank top nervously. Looking in from the kitchen, Kidd saw Blackstar with his arm around Dawn and found himself staring, an unknown feeling similar to an uncomfortable displeasure creeping through him. The sensation of something wet running down his hand brought him back to the task in front of him and he saw his hand had strayed it's path. Instead of pouring juice in the cup in front of him for Patty, it had ventured away and ending up pouring the juice all over his other hand and the counter in his distracted state.

"Shit!" he whispered harshly.

Racing for a towel to clean the mess before it got to him and caused him to freak out, he dried the counter than removed the ring on his middle finger to dry his hand. Once that was done he dried the ring, put it back on, and finished pouring Patty's juice. Grabbing the tray of drinks, Kidd headed to join back with the group.

"Today is not my day." He muttered miserably.

When Dawn saw Kidd coming back she inwardly panicked, knowing she'd have to answer Blackstar now or have him force the answer out of her in front of the reaper.

"Fine! Yes, I do!"

"More than a friend?"

"Yes! Now will you shut up? Don't say a word of this in front of Kidd!" she whispered, face ablaze.

"I won't. Seriously, a god doesn't need to stoop low enough to gossip or blab about a friend's feelings."

A sigh escaped her lips and she visibly relaxed.

"Thank you Blackstar."

"Don't worry about it." He smiled, patting her shoulder before removing his arm.

Kidd returned and handed everyone their drinks, proceeding to take a seat in the vacant armchair. Dawn couldn't help the sense of rejection she felt prick at her when he didn't reclaim his spot beside her. They continued to play truth or dare for awhile, going through a few turns each. Kidd continued to seem distant and Dawn looked at him worriedly at regular intervals. After those following rounds Patty decided she was bored.

"Spin the bottle!" Patty screamed excitedly, so loud that everyone in the room cringed, even Blackstar.

"Fine." Liz shrugged like she couldn't care less if they played or not. "Remember Blackstar, you made the deal to go first for the next game."

"Well it's better than the alternative." He mumbled.

Patty ran out of the room and returned with an empty bottle that she handed to Blackstar. With all of them sitting in a circle around the bottle, Blackstar grasped it.

"Here goes."

He spun the bottle with such velocity that it took off beyond the circle and ended with a series of clangs in the corner of the room.

"Oops, I guess I still have to work on restraining my own strength, you know?"

As he was laughing Dawn rolled her eyes humorously and stood to retrieve the bottle. Her mind flashed through many of the events of the day so far as she often ended up doing. The main topic she stayed on was wondering why Kidd was suddenly acting strange. Her mind distracted, Dawn failed to realize Blackstar had gotten up and followed her. Crouched down to retrieve the bottle in the corner she then stood and was about to turn when she caught movement out of the corner of her eye. A feeling of being cornered, and a stronger feeling of absolute terror crashed into her like a tidal wave. As an automatic reaction she screamed, dropping to the ground and hugging her knees to her chest, the bottle forgotten as it rolled away.

Kidd was by her side in a second, the other three staring in shock at her reaction. Liz slowly rose, gesturing for her sister and the remaining meister to follow her out of the room. When they had left Kidd sat beside Dawn and hugged her to his side, patting her back and trying to calm her down.

"I'm s-sorry." She stuttered, shaking with tears threatening to spill over. "I… I just…"

"It was another trigger wasn't it? From your parents?"

Dawn could only nod weakly as she clung to him, taking deep breaths in an attempt to stop the violent shaking of her own body.

"I'm sorry… so sorry."

"No, don't be. It's not your fault." Kidd whispered and hugged her tighter. "It's not your fault."

Many more apologies later, Dawn was walking back to Soul and Maka's place feeling horrible. She felt as if she'd ruined the whole 'get-together' with her outburst.

"Why?" she asked no one as she rounded the final street corner. "Why can't I just move on?!"

That night Dawn tossed and turned relentlessly, unable to find a peaceful sleep.

A small girl, barely a toddler, with blond hair and wide purple eyes shook in fear as the woman approached her.

"_Since when do you think you're allowed to take food without asking first?"_

"_I'm s-sorry, I was so hungry and…" the child whimpered._

"_That's no excuse! You wait until it's given to you!" the woman yelled back, grabbing the child's arms roughly._

_In her terrified state, the girl accidentally set loose the now familiar purple light that sent her mother flying backwards._

"_You little shit!" the voice of her father assaulted her ears and she scramble back into the corner in her frantic attempts to escape._

"_P-please! I didn't mean to I swear! It just happened!"_

_He closed her in the corner, his large form towering over her and blocking her in. He slapped her across the face, leaving a stinging, violet-red mark in the shape of his hand. Tears sprung at the edges of her eyes as the beating continued and for a split second she locked gazes with the older blond haired, blue eyed boy who sat already beaten on the other side of the room. He could do nothing but watch his little sister get beaten by their own parents. It was that day, after that particularly bad beating that Justin decided something needed to be done. And it was that night that the two ran away, unsure of what lay ahead of them, knowing only that they needed to escape their parents and find a better life. Two days of walking later the two collapsed in the alleyway where Lord Death found them almost another full day after._

Dawn woke in a cold sweat, remembering the last, violent beating she had received from her father. She traveled to the kitchen for a glass of water and returned to the room, remembering just how much Lord Death had done for her since then, and how much better her life had been. There was only one thought running through her mind as she drifted back to sleep.

'Thank you Lord Death, for giving me a life I can be happy in.'

**Author's Note:**** Yes, yes I do support BlackstarXTsubaki. Come on, they were made for each other! Lots of big words in this one kiddies ;P I know that games were probably a let down from what you were expecting but there is only so much I could do with where I want to go and what actions I'm saving for later situations ;)**

**A million thanks to all of my reviewers and subscribers who are still with me! (Favourites too.) And a load more thanks to **_**Shadowblade2000**_** and **_**Gwenni-ni-chan**_** for the game suggestions.**

**Shadowblade2000- **While most of your ideas were not used, they were wonderful. So I've decided that somewhere in the future of this story or it's sequel they will indeed play 7 minutes in heaven and either here or in a side-fic they will play strip poker ;) It's become a must!

**Gwenni-ni-chan- **Oh my god, PAINTBALL! I never actually thought of that and, while I don't see where it could fit amidst the finishing plot line or that of the sequel, I may very well make that a side-fic as well cause I love paintball. (I might as well just make a story to collect a bunch of random DSM side-fics now.)

**I can't think of anything else I need to inform you of at the moment so until next time my lovely readers! Remember, reviews made my day and boost my muse ;) Just sayin'. **

**~Vi**


	25. 23: Into The Madness

_**The DSM?**_

**Chapter 23:**** Into the Madness**

For weeks personal matters were put on the backburners of the lives of those associated with the DWMA. As madness ran rampant through the world, those burdened with the task of fighting it got progressively busier. Dawn barely saw Kidd again, he was sent on many missions and she began spending hour after hour, day after day, training with Lord Death and Sid (when Sid wasn't on a mission as well). It was becoming clearer that a large-scale battle between the academy and arachnophobia was going to happen, and soon. The death scythe meister was pushing herself harder in every waking moment, determined to be able to fight alongside her friends and help them. As a result, she herself in a particular situation many times…

Blinking her eyes against what appeared to be unfamiliar surroundings, Dawn yawned and stretched slightly. Her muscles felt tensed and strained. Briefly unable to remember previous events, she rubbed at her eyes in attempts to pull out of her drowsy state.

"Hey! Great to see you're awake!"

"Holy shi-!" she yelled and jumped up so quickly that, in her still half asleep state, it caused her vision to black out for a few seconds. Dawn's balance failed her as well and she fell back down off the infirmary bed she had been on and flat on her back.

For the first few seconds the numb prickling through her body made Dawn want to avoid moving as much as possible until it passed. Hence, she simply turned her head to view the figure now leaning over her.

"Damn it Death, don't **do** that!"

The cloak he wore moved only slightly, causing Dawn to narrow her gaze. He was laughing at her. Rolling her eyes she pulled herself off the floor to sit with her legs crossed neatly in front of her.

"You get a kick out of it, don't you?"

"I must admit, it's quite interesting to see that someone is more naturally scared of my current voice than my original, deeper one. No matter how much time passes."

"So… that's a yes?" Dawn deadpanned.

Once again, he avoided the answer completely and instead held out one of his large hands to help her up. When she had taken his hand in her own and stood up Dawn decided to just let it go, knowing he wasn't about to give her any straight answers. She looked around to observe her surroundings finding she was in the academy infirmary. Before she could say anything Nygus pulled the curtain to the closed section and peered in.

"Oh good, you're up. We need the bed."

A brown haired boy limped in, half carrying a girl whose arm was draped over his shoulders. She had long dark hair but that was all Dawn could tell for sure, her clothes were torn to the point of barely existing. Not to mention she was covered in blood, and still bleeding. A great deal of her blood was now soaking into the boy's once white hoodie and Dawn could only assume the boy was her weapon and the two were coming back from a mission which, judging by the meister's condition, had gone horribly wrong.

As he laid his meister down on the bed, Dawn couldn't help but think at how familiar he looked. Before she could place it however, Nygus ushered her and Lord Death out of the makeshift room, calling for an assistant to get her disinfectant and equipment to seal the girl's wounds. A moment of silence later Dawn turned to Death where they stood in the hall.

"So why was I… oh crud I did it again didn't I?" she groaned.

Lord Death nodded. "I'm glad to see you practicing so hard and fully dedicating yourself but it would be better if you stopped practicing to the point of passing out."

"Yeah…" she sighed. "Sorry about that."

"Don't be silly." He bounced as he spoke. " You know what? You've been working really hard lately and you've made a lot of progress. Why don't you take the day off tomorrow?"

Dawn objected immediately. "I can't do that!"

"Of course you can." He waved it off. "I'll just sign you of regular classes, very few students are here anyway. You can stay home, you deserve it. Also, we're running out of beds in the infirmary for me to place you in anyway."

After speaking with him some more Lord Death, with much insisting, convinced Dawn to stay home the next day. As she was heading back to Soul and Maka's she remembered that Kidd was supposed to have returned from a mission that same day. Smiling, Dawn took a detour and headed towards gallows manor. When she got up to the walkway and arrived at the front door however she found it locked and no one answered when she knocked.

"Looking for Kidd?"

Jumping and turning simultaneously in surprise Dawn found Blackstar smirking at her from the sidewalk, hands casually behind his head and a smiling Tsubaki beside him.

"Hey Blackstar, Tsubaki. And yeah I am. Why, do you know where he is?"

Blackstar dropped his hands down to his sides and turned to face her fully as she walked towards them.

"Yeah, he's out on a mission."

"So he hasn't gotten back yet?"

"No, he has."

Dawn blinked in confusion causing Blackstar to sigh exasperatedly.

"You seriously mean you don't know?"

She continued staring blankly until Tsubaki stepped in to explain the situation.

"Kidd got back just over an hour ago but as soon as he came back Lord Death sent him out on another mission right away."

"Yeah, something about another magic tool in a town called sarcophagus." Blackstar added.

"Aw damn." Dawn pouted. "If I hadn't passed out again today then I may have been able to see him before he left."

The young assassin's smirk grew and his expression itself seemed to be taunting her with '_I know your secret!_' that she returned with a warning glare. After another few seconds without either of them moving, Tsubaki stepped forward with her eyes darting between the two meisters.

"I'm missing something… aren't I?"

The glare Dawn had been holding faded being replaced with the tiniest upward twitch of her lips that hinted at a barely contained smirk. Her gaze flickered quickly to Tsubaki before settling back on Blackstar once again. It was so quick a normal person would have missed it, like Tsubaki did. Though Blackstar, however loud and obnoxious he was sometimes, had his skills. Observation being one, and it became his turn to glare in warning.

"You wouldn't."

"Neither would you, right?" she said sweetly.

He broke into a large grin, clapping a hand onto her shoulder.

"I think we are both better off keeping our mouths shut on this."

Dawn smiled, nodding to which he nodded back and began walking away. Blackstar got a few meters away before turning back to Dawn.

"Take a good look Dawn! The next time you see **this** star, I'll have surpassed the power of the gods!" he yelled enthusiastically while pointing to himself. Then he turned to his partner with a much more calm attitude. "Come on Tsubaki."

This snapped the young weapon out of her confused trance and she giggled, nodding and smiling sweetly as would be expected of her.

"Right. Well bye Dawn, we'll see you later."

Waving to the pair as they left, Dawn gave no thought to how Blackstar had it in his head that he would surpass god-like power before he saw her again. At the most it would only be two days. Yet, those thoughts evaded her mind so she had no questions as to what he would possibly be doing to give him that opportunity and no suspicions as to what was being planned behind her back. The next morning at sunrise all the meisters and weapons from the academy could be found in the halls of the DWMA preparing to storm Baba Yaga's castle and take down arachnophobia. Well, all but one.

It was almost noon when Dawn woke up, yawning and rolling onto her stomach blissfully. Strands of her loose hair fell over her face while she smiled, stretched, then sunk back into the mattress.

"Finally a day where I can sleep in la-"

Without warning the ground lurched violently at the same time a loud grunt-like sound rang throughout the entire city. The movement made a sudden stop, dumping Dawn out of her bed and face first onto the ground, killing her good mood.

"Oh come **on**!"

The ground jerked again and she was thrown against the wall of her room. She grabbed desperately for something to steady herself, getting nervous. It felt like the entire building was spinning. A nauseous feeling began setting in while she moved to get out of the building as quickly as possible. Stepping out however, she was shocked to see that areas of the whole city were moving. Dawn stood in the street dumbfounded until just as suddenly as it had all started, the moving stopped. A different sort of movement started and seconds later Dawn came to the conclusion that all of death city was now moving forward in unison.

"I need to get to the bottom of this!"

She sprinted off with a newfound speed that the pre-return-to-death-city her would have marveled at. Even though now she knew that most of the meisters at the academy were still faster than her. Taking the steps two at a time it wasn't long before she reached the top, and was thrown to the ground as the city spun again.

"What is it this time?!" she screamed in annoyance and frustration.

When she actually saw the answer to her question though, her face paled and her mouth dropped open in shock. Hands reached out from the city as it spun and grabbed at… a giant moving spider? She wasn't sure if that was accurate but that's what it looked like to her. The 'spider' shot lasers from its eyes that swept across the city, one of which nearly hit Dawn as she stumbled backwards out of its path. She started to question her sanity when she thought she heard Lord Death yelling, "Hot, hot, **HOT!**" from somewhere underneath the ground on which she stood.

"Forget Asura." Dawn mumbled, back on her feet and running through the school halls looking for Death. "This is insanity."

"Dad, don't kill us!"

The yell brought Dawn to a halted stop. Knowing it was Kidd who yelled she didn't hesitate for a moment to take off in the direction she heard it come from, leading her to the death room. Emerging from the guillotine hallway in a rush she found Kidd, Liz, Patty, and the woman she vaguely remembered as Azusa clutching to the edge of the stage. In the moment however, she disregarded introductions due to the circumstances.

"What's going on?!"

That got their attention for sure.

"D-Dawn?!" Kidd looked at her is surprised worry. "What are you doing here?"

"Trying to figure out why I woke up to the city moving."

As she took a step towards them, only a few feet from the group now, the city lurched again and she was nearly sent to the ground for the third time. The only thing that stopped her was Kidd when he stepped forward to catch her. Silence followed, during which Dawn and Kidd simply looked at each other slightly stunned and flushed. Azusa calmly watched the situation unfold, Liz stood to the side smirking and Patty ignored what was going on to speak her mind.

"You really did just wake up didn't you? You're still in your pajamas!" Patty tugged lightly at the hem of Dawn's worn t-shirt, shifting the girl's attention away from the young reaper still supporting her weight.

"You know, I woke up to a face full of carpet, was thrown against a wall, the entire city was moving for reasons unknown and I was worried about changing clothes." She quipped sarcastically.

Her remark earned a chuckle from Kidd as he helped her get steady on her feet. It lasted only a second because his expression sobered and he described the situation to her. By the time he finished Dawn was upset to say the least.

"He gave me the day off of school so everyone else could go fight against arachnophobia without me!" she ranted a bit, and while her tone had started off angry it faded, sounding upset near the end. "I promised I would help him with his cause, I don't understand why he won't let me."

Azusa finally spoke, pushing her glasses further up her nose resulting in a glare over the lenses.

"Excuse me but how long have you been a student here exactly?"

"Um… I came just after the kishin's revival so… four, five months maybe."

"Then what makes you think a student of less than six months can stand against an organization like arachnophobia?"

Before Dawn could voice her offense at the comment that Azusa made, they all jumped; startled as something or rather someone fell into the death room.

"What was **that**?" Liz spoke up this time.

"Not what, who."

Kidd's eyes narrowed as he was obviously looking for the soul of whoever had interrupted them. His eyes widened in a startled recognition that made Dawn's stomach flip.

"Asura."

The voice wasn't Kidd and Dawn's head snapped in the direction that it came from. There, a good hundred feet away, stood Lord Death with Death Scythe slung over his shoulder. Everything after that for Dawn came in a blur, the level at which Death and Asura fought was astounding. The last thing she remembered was the swish of a black cloak covering her field of view then… nothing.

* * *

><p>Blinking, Dawn winced at how bright the light seemed to be. Her head was pounding and when she finally opened her eyes fully, the world around her blurred, black spots dotting her vision. It took a moment but when she regained her sight she saw a large piece of rubble in front of her face.<p>

"Huh?"

Rolling over, she turned to come face to face with an unconscious Spirit.

"Whoa!"

Dawn sat up, pressing against the rubble and as far from the man as possible, startled. Her stomach disagreed with the movement however and threatened to discard whatever was left in it from the previous day. One thought drew her attention away though, if Spirit was here and unresponsive, then what about Lord Death? She stood up to look around, and that was when she saw him, cloak in tatters and medical machines hooked up to him.

"L-Lord Death!"

Running over to him despite the pain she felt, Dawn felt panicked until she felt a hand rest on her shoulder.

"The medics said he'll be fine." Azusa stated in a manner than was much calmer than she herself felt.

"W…What happened?"

Dawn had tears pricking at her eyes, on the verge of spilling over.

"Asura made a low move and aimed for us, or more specifically, Kidd. Lord Death jumped in front to take the hit for our little group and protect us. He saved out lives."

The mention of the group drew Dawn's attention to a different person now that she knew Death was going to be okay.

"What about Kidd?"

An uncertain and concerned look crossed Azusa's face but she said nothing.

"Azusa! Is he ok?"

"Yeah… I think."

"You think? Azusa what happened? Where is he?"

"He… left to fight the kishin."

"What?!" Dawn felt her stomach plummet and her heart stop.

"Asura was sealing himself in a barrier that would have blocked everyone out and assured the world's descent into madness. Kidd decided to get to him before the barrier closed and prevent that from happening. Maka and Blackstar made it in as well but that is all I know. The barrier is preventing me from seeing anything else without a pre-established link with someone on the inside."

After a few deep breaths Dawn composed herself and looked up at Azusa with a determined look in her eyes.

"Establish a link with me then."

"Dawn I don't like where this is going."

"I have an idea. I think I may be able to break through the barrier."

"Dawn-"

"You can establish a link with me or I'll go without it anyway."

"Kidd's already left under my watch I can't let you go too!" Azusa snapped.

"And **I'm** sick and tired of sitting by while those I care about fight! While they get hurt protecting me! Do you have any idea what it feels like to owe your life to people? For once, I want to be the one to help others, to fight for them!"

Dawn had screamed back, taking Azusa by surprise. The death scythe returned to her calm demeanor in response.

"But trying to fight the kishin is not a good way to start."

"I'm still doing it."

Dawn was walking away when Azusa grabbed her by the arm. She felt a static sensation before Azusa let go. Nodding at the older woman in understanding, she took off at a sprint for where she could now see the giant barrier surrounding the kishin. On the way she passed groups of terminated arachnophobia agents. Arriving on the edge of the barrier, Dawn swallowed thickly and her palms began to sweat.

"The barrier must be a manifestation of the kishin's wavelength… and a wavelength can't protect against one thing. Itself."

She sighed, resting a hand against the seemingly solid surface.

"Never again. No one will get hurt for me again." She fingered the choker on her neck.

"I'm going to need no restrictions. I'm sorry Lord Death, but today I'm breaking my promise."

Dawn pulled the fabric over her head and dropped the choker to the ground beside her. Hands pressed to the barrier, she strained to adjust her wavelength.

"Focus. Focus…"

* * *

><p>Stein's head snapped up from where he had been watching Marie sit by Chrona.<p>

"Stein is something wrong?"

"Now I remember… So that's what her soul looks like…" he murmured.

* * *

><p>Suddenly the barrier was no longer solid to her and she fell through. Instead of face planting onto the ground like she had prepared for, Dawn found herself stumbling into a pitch-black area, no walls or even floor visible even though she definitely felt one beneath her feet.<p>

"W-What's going on?"

"Foolish child." A male voice chuckled.

Dawn whipped around trying to find where the voice was coming from but it seemed to radiate from every direction.

"Who's there? Where am I?"

"Did you not think of the real result of your actions?" the voice taunted.

"What are you talking about?"

"You were right about one thing…"

She turned again, panic setting in and her breathing getting heavier.

"…A wavelength can't protect against itself." He continued. "However my wavelength **is** insanity. By matching you own wavelength to mine you gave yourself up… to the madness."

**Author's Note:**

**Da da daaaaa. Cliffhanger!**

**Sorry about the timing =_=' Too many setbacks happened for me to even tell you. *sigh* Anyway, happy news is I may be able to go to Anime-North! For those who may not know, it is an anime convention happening in Toronto in May and I am so excited for the possibility of going! Mainly because John Swasey and J. Michael Tatum are the guests there! For those who don't recognize voice actor names, here is a list of anime characters I know the two play.**

**John Swasey:**

The Undertaker (Kuroshitsuji/Black Butler)

Van Hohenheim (FMA:Brotherhood)

Yuzuru Suou (Ouran HSHC)

And…

Lord Death! *fangirl squeal*

**J. Michael Tatum:**

Sebastian Michaelis (Kuroshitsuji/Black Butler)

Komui Lee ( Man)

Scar (Fullmetal Alchemist)

France (Hetalia)

Kyoya Ootori (Ouran HSHC)

And…

Giriko! Yay!

**Wow, this is the longest chapter yet. In written format it is eight average letters pages written front and back.**

**Furthermore, I've just posted a CanadaXReader I wrote for a contest on DA, if any of you are Hetalia fans.**

**Also going to be posted is an alternative scene for this chapter! (Later when I write it fully and type it) The way this chapter happened was actually not my first idea on how to enter the battle. But I still like the original idea so I will write it soon and post it as the first installment to the random DSM side-fic collection that will include the paintball and strip poker ;) Probably will just end up calling it "Adventures of a Death Scythe Meister". Any better ideas would be appreciated.**

**Love always,**

**~Vi**


	26. 24: Meisters of Weapon Descent

_**The DSM**_

**Chapter 24:**** Meisters of Weapon Descent, The Death Scythe Meister's New Technique?**

Feet pounded against an invisible floor and breaths came out in short, ragged rasps. The sound of her own heartbeat rang in her ears. It felt like she had been running for hours but Dawn knew it had been mere seconds since she took off, away from the taunting voice of the kishin and away from the billowing red fog that swept across the seemingly non-existent ground at a leisurely pace. No matter how fast she ran and how slow it moved in comparison it was always nipping at her heels, psychological torture at it's finest.

"Just give up." Asura spoke to her like one would talk to a child. If she wasn't busy concerning herself with her own sanity, Dawn would have given thought to being offended at his tone. She didn't respond so he continued.

"The madness has already taken hold of your soul. There's no use trying to get away."

His taunts continued though they were trying to reach ears hearing nothing but the rhythmic pounding of her heart and feet. They were soon joined by panicked thoughts.

_'There has to be a way to reverse this! I'm still thinking, I'm still self-aware, I'm still... me. I can't be completely lost to the madness yet.'_

* * *

><p>"Go after him Maka. Go get Soul." Blackstar urged with a small smile despite the circumstances.<p>

Maka turned to Kid next, still a little unsure. She wanted to go get him back, of course, but she was cautious about leaving her friends to face the kishin alone.

Kid forced a smile too. "We'll be here waiting for you to come back."

Neither of their smiles reached the boy's eyes, however their reassuring words were enough to convince her it would be okay.

"Thanks guys."

No sooner had Maka pressed her forehead to Soul's and went to retrieve him then Kid sensed another presence enter the area. Focusing in on the new soul he noticed something odd. This new wavelength was erratic, discharging thicker wavelengths like solar flares off of the sun. Though each flare was met with another on the opposite side of the soul so it could remain relatively stable and, consequently, meant it was always... symmetrical. An unexpected pain shot up Kid's back as he hit rubble after being sent flying.

"Damn I let myself get distracted, I can't afford that in a fight of this level!"

In seconds he remembered something with a startling intensity.

"_Please be careful Kid. I don't want to find out that you were killed simply because you were too busy focusing on the symmetry of something or lack there-of."_

"Dawn... I hope she's alright."

He got up to continue firing as the thought bounced around in his head, gaining significance.

_'I feel like I'm missing something... Dawn... Dawn... Dawn!"_

"That was Dawn's soul!"

"What?" Blackstar paused only long enough to speak before jumping back at Asura, swinging for his face.

"I sense Dawn's soul, she's here somewhere!"

"But how did she get in here?"

"She must have gotten past the barrier somehow when we weakened it with our attacks."

Blackstar stopped beside Kid to say, "Well what are you waiting for? An invitation? Go find her!" then swung back for Asura.

"Besides," he continued when Kid was silent. "She'll want to have her chance to be a background actress in this performance too!"

Focusing in on her soul again, Kid was able to determine where she was and began heading towards her. Though one thing disturbed him. The madness seemed to be surrounding her soul at an alarming rate, looking like it was trying to swallow her. When he peered over the piece of rubble she had fallen behind he found it was just that. Dawn lay unconscious, limbs shaking and eyes roaming wildly behind closed eyelids.

Liz couldn't hide the fear in her voice if she tried. "What's happening to her?!"

"She's fighting the madness." Kid has to fight to keep his own voice steady.

* * *

><p><em>' I can't go on like this much longer.'<em>

As if her body was agreeing, Dawn's legs collapsed under her and Dawn fell to the ground, face first with no time to break her fall.

"For apparent non-existent ground it hurts like hell to hit." she groaned miserably while rubbing at her face.

Pulling her hand away she caught a glimpse of the red cloud just before she was completely surrounded by it. She could feel the last of her conscious wavelength slipping away. On instinct Dawn used the last of her controllable wavelength to charge her hands and brought them to her chest before releasing the charge, shocking herself like a defibrillator. The clouds around her were pushed back long enough for her to take off sprinting again.

_'That was enough to push it back but I'll never free myself with that. This is not good!'_

Suddenly, Dawn's shaking quickened before ending completely.

"Is she free?" Liz wondered aloud.

The symbol of the kishin starting etching itself on her forehead and Kid's stomach dropped. He didn't want to believe what he was seeing or feel as helpless as he felt in that moment. A purple light outlined her for a moment then faded, erasing the half finished kishin symbol with it. The smallest of grim smiles tugged at his lips at this revelation.

"Just hang on Dawn, keep fighting it."

Kid could almost hear the sarcastic remark she would have given in his head. 'Really? 'Cause you know, I thought I'd just embrace the madness and wreak havoc on the world. Seemed like a good idea to me.'

"Blackstar!"

"What is it?" he sounded annoyed, still taking swings at the kishin.

"I need you to hit Dawn with your wavelength."

"Wait.. what?!" everyone else other than Asura cried in unison with voices laced with shock.

"Her own wavelength was enough to push the kishin's back for a moment. Someone else's, especially someone with such a stubborn soul like yours-"

"Hey!" Blackstar cried indignately.

"-may be enough to force Asura to let go of the hold he has on her soul. Or at least give her the opening to get away."

"Ok."

"Seriously?"

To say Kid was stunned would be an understatement. He had been fully expecting Blackstar to object, demanding the spotlight be kept on himself.

"Yeah seriously. A star doesn't abandon his friends. Besides, I'll have plenty of time to kick the kishin's ass after I'm done saving Dawn!" he exclaimed proudly then waved a dismissive hand in Kid's direction. "You can be the distraction or something, not that I need one or anything bit it's in Dawn's best interest to have time to recover."

Not about to complain, Kid lept off to attack Asura once again. Blackstar knelt beside Dawn and place his hand on her stomach.

"Now how about you come back to the world of the conscious."

He shocked her but there was no change in her condition.

"Huh... that was weird."

He used it another time and still her condition remained the same.

"This is getting annoying."

Again.

Growling, his eye twitched as he set Tsubaki down. He told her to wait a moment before he grabbed Dawn's hand and placed her arm around his shoulders. Lifting her up as he stood fully, Blackstar set Dawn up against a particularly large piece of the upturned cement surrounding them, so she was as close to standing on her own as she could be.

"Blackstar what are you doing?"

The commotion drew Kid's attention back to the others in time to see Blackstar running at Dawn.

"Wait Blackst-"

"Blackstar big wave!"

Almost instantly Dawn's eyes snapped open and blood spurted from her mouth as she opened it to scream.

"Now that's better." Blackstar smirked triumphantly.

He took a few steps back to give Dawn time to get steady on her feet.

"Dammit Blackstar that hurt."

"What were you thinking?" Kid interjected.

"I was thinking," his response verged on a sassy attitude. "that I've already done this kind of thing and Dawn just needed a but of an extra push."

Walking back to Tsubaki he picked her up casually as she protested his previous action as well.

"But Blackstar that was Masamune! This is the kishin!"

"So what? This is me we're talking about! I'm going to take the kishin down anyway! So why not start by forcing his nasty wavelength out of Dawn's soul?"

"Oh yes, how silly of me to question it, sorry." Tsubaki sighed.

It became apparent that Asura got bored with the scene in front of him as he turned to where Soul and Maka lay.

"Now... die."

Kid and Blackstar left to block the blow with a speed that made Dawn's still recovering head spin. As a result she nearly fell back down onto her knees. Once the smoke cleared the two boys continued their assault on Asura, Dawn joining in as soon as she regained a proper centre of balance. Asura found himself constantly pelted by Kid's compressed wavelength bullets and the airborne 'slices' of Dawn's wavelength. Each followed by a blow from the enchanted sword.

"Dammit we're losing ground!"

Asura laughed sadistically, mocking them. With a single flick of his finger, he sent all three tumbling back into the nearest chunk of rubble.

"Losing ground? That would imply you gained some to begin with."

"You're right." Kid nearly growled in exasperation. "With the level of attack we're using we'd be hard pressed to even put a dent in you. So I guess we're just going to have to attack you even harder!"

Feet planted firmly, Kid stood up with Blackstar and Dawn following suit. When she looked over to Kid, Dawn noticed he seemed to be deep in thought, like he was having some sort of inner monologue.

"Pathetic." he whispered.

"Useless." A little louder.

He lowered his head. "I don't deserve to be his son."

However when he looked back up the conflicted and upset tone in his voice was replaced with a determined look in his eyes.

_'That's the Kid I know.'_ Dawn found herself smiling despite the circumstances.

"Hear me now. Kishin Asura you die today. Dawn, Blackstar, back me up on this. I'm giving this next shot all I've got."

Before Dawn could agree Blackstar yelled.

"Hell no! I'm going to keep going at him and **you** can back **me** up when you're ready."

"Have it your way."

Without another word Kid started expanding his wavelength. He didn't get a chance to do much before Asura stabbed him through the chest. Blackstar and Dawn could only watch in horror as he fell face down on the ground.

"Kid!"

"Damn you!" Dawn yelled, swiping her arm in the air and sending another wave of her soul force at Asura with tears brimming her eyes.

"Tsk tsk stk."

Asura scolded her, flicking the wavelength away like it was nothing.

"Don't blame this on me. If he had been stronger that wouldn't have happened. Heck, if your precious Lord Death had been stronger than none of you would be in this situation in the first place. So if you want to blame anyone it should be him."

"Shut up!" Blackstar screamed, joining in. "You shouldn't be bothering to talk when you have to fight me!"

Immediately after Dawn sent a second attack to Asura, Kid's body started floating up to a standing position again. With her attention now drawn to Kid, she missed seeing Asura reflect her own attack back at her until...

"Dawn!"

Hearing Blackstar yell she turned in time to see herself engulfed in a familiar purple light. Her body was filled with the same prickly feeling one would get when their foot 'falls asleep'. The kishin laughed, mocking her further.

"See what I mean? You're a weakling! All of you are! Your body's been stunned by it's own wavelength!"

_'I...I can't move...'_

Panicking, she tried to take a step forward but was met with resistance. Her limbs simply wouldn't budge. She watched in awe as Kid's sanzu lines connected and Liz and Patty grew so large they required stands to support their weight. It was a blur as Kid shot Asura and Dawn knew her wavelength was taking it's course through her system and confusing her senses. The blast resulting from Kid's shot at Asura sent her flying back, tossing through the air for the seemingly millionth time that day. Dawn saw the blow coming but could do nothing in her temporarily paralysed state to stop it. The last thing she saw was Kid falling back down to the ground lifelessly.

* * *

><p>Blinking her eyes open, the black slowly fading to the edges of her vision.<p>

"Damn I need to stop that." Dawn growled.

"You can dodge this, but if you do your friend will die."

Whipping her head around to the voice she watched as Maka stood in front of a shot to protect Soul, arms wide open. Shock held her still while Maka attacked Asura by summoning multiple blades.

_'Makes sense though since her dad is a weapon.'_

But the tide soon turned against Maka when Asura woke her up. Her scream's snapped Dawn back into 'action mode' and she sprang up, taking Asura by surprise when she tackled him away from Maka. Getting up, Dawn stood in a protective stance in front of the scythe meister as she recovered.

"You've thrown the world into chaos, hurt my friends, and I have no idea if Lord Death is even alive or not! You could have killed him for all I know if I was just told he'd be fine out of mercy! I cannot forgive you for any of that!" She was screaming by the end.

Asura simply scoffed, only proving to heighten Dawn's new-found rage. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, Dawn turned to Maka.

"How do you feel about branching out from your usual scythe weapon?"

"What are you talking about Dawn?"

"Trust me, we need to do resonance link."

"Without weapons?"

"Like I said, trust me." Dawn grasped Maka's hand. "Oh and resist any urges you get okay? I can't tell you how it supposed to feel since I've never done it before."

"Done what?"

They began resonating souls even though Maka was completely lost.

"Changed to weapon form." Dawn smirked.

"What?! Don't be crazy! We're meisters!"

"Maka, fighting is not my strong suit but that's because my speciality as a death scythe meister is the study, knowledge and perception of souls. While I can't see them as well as you, I can feel them. And what I feel in my soul is that this can and will work."

Their resonance picked up until suddenly Dawn melted down into a purple light that molded itself into a double-bladed axe.

"Well would you look at that." she murmured.

Maka gawked at the weapon now in her hands.

"So, think you can handle something with a shorter blade?"

A smile crept over the scythe meister's face as she gripped the handle tight.

"Yeah, I can make do."

"Great now let's do this."

Maka needed no more incentive as she charged at Asura with renewed energy.

**Author's Note:**** OMG IT'S 4 IN THE MORNING HERE! Do you see my dedication? I stayed up till I am about to fall asleep on the keyboard to type this thing out. I really need to get a laptop so I don't have to write it separately then type it all in one go.**

**GUYS I AM IN A STORY ON HERE OMG I COULD DIE HAPPY! So one of my best friends ever is Geneva38. She is writing a Soul Eater fanfiction called "Bloodlust-Meister Style" you can find it in my favourites. Anyway so in it I am a teacher/shovel meister crushing on Justin like I probably would if he was real, not going to lie. And yes you heard me right, a shovel meister. Perhaps I should explain...**

**Honestly I was just thinking one day. "If I was a meister in Soul Eater, what would my weapon be? It has to be something unique and unconventional but work none-the-less." Hence, I came up with a shovel and while being a random 'crack' idea it kind of stuck. And if you remember, my reviewing friend and the other best friend who got me into Soul Eater, Sydney? Yeah well she is my shovel. **

**It stuck so much that one day I went to school and a friend of mine, Ian, came up and said, "would this be your shovel Dana?" He showed me a picture of a shovel with a serrated blade. That's right, serrated. "Like a steak knife."-Geneva38 just now as she looks over my shoulder while I'm typing. At four in the morning. We were supposed to be asleep three hours ago. "Oops... what's this sleep you speak of?"**

**So sorry about the wait, hope it's worth it. And the next is definitely coming sooner. If Geneva had it her way, I'd finish the entire story tomorrow. She may have to settle for one more chapter. "I will be a slave driver." -Geneva38. Now she just commented that I should stop quoting her but whatever, it's funny. **

**GO READ ABOUT ME AND SYD KICKIN BUTT! Jk, but I do get together with Justin. *fangirls massively * **

"**Eventually."**

***fangirls less but still alot ***


	27. 25: Cost of Victory

_**The DSM?**_

**Chapter 25:**** The Cost of Victory**

"Look who's back baby!"

"Oh Lord Death, glad to see you're awake." Spirit murmured not taking his eyes off of the enclosed space created by Asura.

Death nodded and turned to take inventory of those in the room with him. Mainly though he was checking for those he had jumped in front of to make sure they were unharmed. The breath of relief he let out at seeing Azusa among those in the room with him was quickly replaced with apprehension when he was finished his scouting and did not find Kid, Dawn, Liz or Patty.

"Azusa."

"Yes sir?"

"…Where are the others?"

"…"

She couldn't bring herself to meet his gaze, her head bowed and eyes staring at her feet.

"Azusa…" his voice was deep and held a tone of warning.

"I'm sorry sir. I didn't stop them from going after Asura."

"Then why aren't any of you helping them?!"

"Sir…" Stein stepped in. "The kishin has sealed a barrier around himself, effectively trapping meisters Maka, Blackstar, and Death the Kid in along with their respective weapons."

"And Dawn?"

"She went in afterwards by synchronizing her wavelength with Asura's. We are unsure of the condition of any of the meisters and weapons."

Everyone was shocked to hear Lord Death growl at this news and it sent chills up the spines of all who were present. After a few minutes of silence Azusa swallowed thickly in preparation to speak. She could only pray he was calmed down enough to avoid snapping on her.

"Lord Death sir?"

His head snapped to her direction instantaneously causing her to flinch apprehensively. Looking around, he saw the terrified faces of everyone else. Even Stein was wary of how Lord Death was acting. The reaper sighed, resting his head on his hands while he attempted to calm himself. The air remained tense up until he lifted his head back up and spoke again.

"You were saying, Azusa?"

A collective breath was let out at the return of his childish voice. Everyone started to calm down except for Chrona who was shaking wildly off to the side.

"Uh yes. I thought it appropriate that you be informed I created a psyche connection with Dawn before she departed though it is of no use at the moment."

"'Of no use'? What do you mean?" Marie questioned.

"I keep regularly attempting to activate the connection however all I get is static."

"Could it be outdated?"

"No, Azusa's connections will remain active a full 24 hours at least." Stein joined in.

Azusa sighed, walking over to the edge of the death room to look out at Asura's barrier with Spirit.

"So either the kishin's barrier is too disruptive and is interfering with the connection or…"

Silence enveloped the crowd. All of their minds came to the same conclusion but none of them seemed keen to be the one to voice it. The Stein did, being the most objective of them all.

"Or she's dead."

* * *

><p>'<em>So this is the power of a death scythe meister soul?' <em>Maka thought as she slashed at Asura, wounding him multiple times. However not without a few wounds of her own. _'Despite being a meister, she forcibly activated the weapon blood within her and not only that, but right away I can wield her with as much ease as Soul… possibly easier! Incredible!'_

Asura reached out to strike at Maka who blocked by sticking one of Dawn's blades halfway through his wrist. Twisting the staff so that the blades lay along the length of his arm, Maka continued the movement, driving the second blade through his shoulder joint and effectively cutting off his left arm in one swift movement. She took advantage of the fact his attention was diverted to his fallen arm. Immediately returning to the offensive, she stepped around behind him and slashed at his back sending Asura to his knees with the force. Spinning back around to his front she brought the blunt sides of Dawn's blades to his face, knocking him down onto his back with his legs twisted underneath him.

"We've got him now!" Dawn cheered.

"That's what you think." Asura growled, his flesh scarves lashing out and throwing Maka backwards.

Both Maka and Asura stood at the same time. Charging at him again, she swung only to have him catch the blade between the fingers of his remaining hand mere inches from his face.

"You're a weakling." He spat viciously as she continually struggled in her attempts to push the blade forward.

"I've had enough of your pointless insults."

A flash of sparking purple light emanated from the blades forcing Asura to let go. This allowed Maka to follow through with the swing and bring the still charged blades deep across his chest. Staggering backwards, Asura clutched desperately at the gash that was quickly draining him of large amounts of his blood. His gasped, shallow breaths drowned out the soft sound of footsteps approaching him.

"Kishin Asura…"

He looked up from the gash to see Maka directly in front of him.

"…your soul is mine!"

With one final swing she cut through his abdomen, the halves of his body dissipated into black mist. The mist circled around and with a small 'pop' it formed a soul, floating where he had been seconds before.

"We… we did it."

Maka sounded as if she was trying to believe what had just transpired.

"We actually beat the kishin."

Falling from her grasp Dawn willed herself to return to her human form. Her almost trademark purple sparking light shifted back to form her human silhouette. Three sickening cracks, each louder than the last, could be heard just as her transformation completed.

With clear concern in her voice Maka asked, "What was that? Are you ok?"

"Nothing, I'm fine."

However Maka remained unconvinced. The fact that Dawn's face was twitching with the effort of keeping the smile up was not helping to convince her either. The barrier around them started fading away, bringing both of their thoughts back to the entirety of the situation. At his side in an instant, Dawn checked on Kid anxiously.

"I'm not sure how much longer he can last these injuries without medical attention. How are the others?" she tried to keep her voice steady but failed.

"Soul's still out cold from the shot he took for me earlier." Maka said, just as choked up. "And I don't know what's wrong with Liz, Patty, Tsubaki or Blackstar but their souls keep flickering. They're hurt badly too, it must be internal."

Not receiving any reply, she turned to see Dawn sitting rigid with her eyes glowing blue.

"Huh?"

* * *

><p>"Sir! I've got a successful connection!" Azusa exclaimed, on the verge of actually sounding excited.<p>

Spirit, who's gaze was still fixated on the barrier followed up with, "The barrier is fading!"

"What do you see Azusa?"

"…shit." She muttered. "We need a med team down there stat! We have a confirmed six students down and in need of immediate medical attention."

Up on shaking legs, Spirit walked over to Azusa. A pleading look on a face on the verge of tears.

"…Maka?" He sounded like a kicked puppy.

"Maka is fine as far as I can tell."

Marie stepped forward. "Who is the other that's relatively okay? Dawn only has to be alive at all for the connection to work right? That's not guarantee on her condition."

"No, it is Dawn. By the angle I am seeing things I can deduce that she is kneeling."

After surveying the area Azusa cut off the connection. With a solemn expression she turned to Lord Death.

"Sir…"

"Hmm?"

"Kid's injuries are very extensive… even in my non-experienced opinion it looks as if his chances of survival are quite slim."

He stayed silent, opting to stare blankly at the ground in front of him rather than offer a response.

'_Kid… all of you… come back alive.'_

* * *

><p>When released from Azusa's connection Dawn started swaying which only made Maka more concerned about her friend's condition. What was she hiding and why? All attempts at questioning her were shrugged off while Dawn struggled to her feet. Gazes lifting, both girls caught sight of the medical team rushing their way. Stein who was heading the group got to them first.<p>

"Are you two okay?"

"I'm fine but I think Dawn-"

Dawn interrupted before she could finish the sentence.

"I'm fine, really. Kid needs your help though."

As she spoke she gestured to the young reaper at her feet. Stein quickly went to work on stabilizing Kid's condition with a kit handed to him by one of the other doctors. Once everyone had been stabilized they began the trek back to the DWMA. Each step up the staircase was silent agony for the death scythe meister until, two steps from the top, she couldn't handle it anymore and collapsed. Maka's speedy reflexes allowed her to catch the young girl before her face met concrete.

"What's wrong with her?"

Looking over his shoulder Stein took in the scene and stopped while the rest continued into the school.

"I can take a look at her once we get the other into the infirmary."

He looked from Patty in his arms to Dawn in Maka's.

"Can you carry her there?"

"I think so."

* * *

><p>"Lord Death? You wanted to see me?"<p>

Stein stood at the edge of the stage in the death room the morning after the battle against the kishin. He had finally finished overseeing all the surgeries in the group and hooking them all up in infirmary beds.

"Yes. What's the status of the students that fought Asura?"

"Well sir I am unsure of what Asura did but Blackstar, Tsubaki and the Thompson sisters all suffered massive internal bleeding. We took care of the proper procedure to relieve the pressure and set all of them up with IV transfusions. If all goes well they should be able to leave by nightfall. Soul was pretty beat up too but after some rest he should be able to leave with the others tonight as well. I sent Maka home last night because she is well enough that she didn't need to be admitted. All of them should avoid any strenuous activities for the next few weeks."

A moment of silence passed before Lord Death asked about what was weighing heaviest on his mind.

"…What about Kid and Dawn?"

"Dawn snapped three ribs. I found out from Maka that it must have happened when she was returning from weapon form. I had to-"

"Wait wait wait go back. Did you say returning from weapon form?!"

Hand Death been drinking like he often did while consulting his subordinates he would have done a spit take.

Incredulously Stein simply nodded and waved it off with an 'I'll tell you later'.

"As I was saying, I had to go in and re-attach the ribs with some surgical steel brackets. She was extremely lucky that none of them punctured a lung. Her condition would have been a lot worse had that happened. She should be out by tomorrow morning at the latest. As for Kid… that hit he took to the chest was very serious. Miraculously nothing too major was hurt but he lost a huge amount of blood. And it's not like we have reaper blood on hand to give him a transfusion or can draw any from you with proper procedure. We will have to wait for his remaining blood cells to divide until he has enough to function in a conscious state again."

"So basically you're saying…"

"He will remain unconscious for anywhere from 2-4 days given the accelerated process as opposed to the average human rate."

Death sighed heavily, holding his head in one of his large hands. What a mess this was. All of it could have been prevented if he just managed to defeat Asura sooner before he had decided to aim for the others in the death room.

"Don't blame yourself." Stein turned to leave. "I know no one else does, so you shouldn't be too hard on yourself okay? Now if you'll excuse me Dawn and the others should be waking up soon and will need someone to let them know you're fine. They were quite worried after all."

"Worried… about me?"

**Author's Note:**** So much dialogue, so little action… ugghh. ANYWAY I like to think I added a touch of reality to the aftermath. I mean this is effing Asura we are talking about and Kid got stabbed through the chest while Blackstar is actually injured enough that he stopped fighting. You've seen the whooping he took from Mifune but he still fought. And Dawn… well that will be described next chapter.**

**PREPARE YOURSELVES FOR FLUFF! - **** That's your spoiler.**

**In other news, I'm still waiting on the death the kid ring sets me and Geneva38 ordered off the net to come in the mail. So excited! Looking for jobs tomorrow… wish me luck. Lastly, I may be going to FanExpo in August to meet Vic Mignogna (Spirit), Cheram(ie?) Leigh(Patty), Colleen Clinkenbeard(Marie) and Todd Haberkorn(KID!). Fingers crossed!**

**Demonofthesilverstars, your review made my day.**

**See you all next chapter! -Vi**


	28. 26: Reflecting

_**The DSM?**_

_**I know I already posted this chapter but in my rush to get it up I missed a small but important part. So if you already read this just skip down to Lord Death's conversation with Dawn. If this is your first time viewing this chapter ignore this note.**_

**Chapter 26:**** Reflecting**

_Lord Death walked calmly behind a very excited Kid who was dragging Dawn behind by her hand. He laughed quietly to himself as the young children ran from shop to shop down the main street of the city. The two stopped in front of a particular shop, noses and hands pressed against the glass of the front bay window. _

"_And this is the best bakery in town. The owner Mr. Malone is really nice and makes the best cinnamon rolls." _

_On cue, Mr. Malone saw the two in the window and brought out a couple of said treats, a wide grin on his face. _

"_Well good evening young lord, cinnamon roll for you and your girlfriend?" he offered with a wink. _

"_Thanks Mr. Malone!" they chorused. _

"_Please, call me Gary." _

_As they continued down the street Dawn turned to Kid, interrupting his tour. _

"_Hey Kid?" _

"_Yeah?" _

"_What's a girlfriend anyway?" _

_He seemed to think about it for a minute while they both chewed on their treats. _

"_I'm not entirely sure but when I think about it, it combines girl and friend right? You're a girl and my friend so it must be true." _

_He stated it with a tone of finality and such a proud smile on his face that Dawn couldn't help but to giggle and nod in agreement. Before long they made it to the base of the stairs to the academy. Dawn was in complete awe as she stared up at the massive building. Death, who was supervising the two, chuckled at her reaction. _

"_Is that really the DWMA? The entire building?" _

"_Yep! Come on I'll show you more!" _

_Kid grabbed onto her hand again, pulling her up the steps excitedly. After the quick tour he pulled her around for, they finished by watching the rest of the city below from the top balcony. The sheer height itself was to be marvelled at, everyone below appearing as mere dots in her field of vision. _

"_Wow... so this is all yours?" she peered up at Death. _

"_I guess you could say that. And one day it will all be Kiddo's." He used a single finger to affectionately ruffle Kid's hair to which the young boy laughed. _

"_Then you'll run the academy when you're older?" her attention turned to Kid. _

_In response he grinned proudly with a nod of his head. _

"_Then it's settled." _

_His smile faded in confusion. _

"_Huh?" _

_Dawn leaned in closely, grinning the widest she ever had. All because now she had something to look forward to besides escaping the grasp of her tempered parents. To Kid's surprise she grabbed his small hands in her own this time. _

"_Then I'm going to make the strongest death weapon __ever__ for you to use!" _

_With a matching grin, the young reaper nodded almost spasmodically. _

"_In that case I'll train extra hard so when that day comes, I'll be able to protect all of Death City just like daddy!" he gazed up at his father before turning back to Dawn. "And I'll protect you too of course, you are my girlfriend after all." _

_Death held back the sudden laughter threateningly to spill out as he followed behind the children who were making their way back to the gallows manor. Dawn seemed very excited to get back and tell her brother all she had learnt about the city._

**Dawn's POV **

My eyes opened slowly, adjusting themselves to the bright lights of the DWMA infirmary. Groaning, I got up and stretched in an attempt to undo all of the muscle kinks I gained from my awkward sleeping position strewn across a chair. A very uncomfortable one at that. Remembering my dream I couldn't help but smile at the memory.

"I had forgotten about that." I murmured to myself.

A quick glance to the clock over the doorway confirmed it was almost noon of the third day since we had defeated Asura. It had also been three nights now, and the last two I had not been so lucky as to dream about myself and Kid as children. The previous night had been the worst. As I slept, Asura stabbing Kid was all I saw, over and over it replayed through my mind.

I saw Kid fall lifelessly to the ground what must have been more than a hundred times before I bolted awake with such an ear-piercing scream that I'm sure I woke up all of Death City with me. All except Kid who still lay here in front of me with the most peaceful expression I have ever seen on his face. Even at times when he seemed happy I could tell the feeling of Asura's madness was always prodding at his mind, concerning him. Maybe now that he has finally been removed as a threat to this world he can genuinely relax.

The longer I watched him, thinking to myself and silently praying for him to wake, the harder I was finding it to brush off the urge to reach out to him. When I remembered no one was around to see me anyway, I reached out and brushed his bangs out of his face. My hand slid down to the side of his face where I left it stroking his cheek.

**3rd Person POV **

Dawn wasn't really thinking about it when she suddenly found herself leaning down and quickly pressing her lips to his forehead. When she pulled away she was shocked to be met with a pair of open golden eyes.

"K-Kid!?"

The young reaper nodded his head weakly in response. Her cheeks felt like they were on fire and she hoped he wasn't awake enough to realize what she had done for fear of how he would react. Kid's lips began moving as if he was speaking but Dawn heard nothing.

"Kid, I can't read lips like Justin... at all." she sighed, calming down.

He repeated himself but still no sound could be heard.

"Seriously my skills are non-exsistant."

Kid rolled his eyes and motioned for her to come closer. Despite feeling slightly awkward for doing so Dawn leaned in, holding her hair back as she turned her ear closer to his face in attempts to hear him.

Finally she heard it, a raspy whisper. "You missed."

"Huh?"

She turned her face to look at him, temporarily forgetting the reduced distance between them, so she was twice as shocked when his chin tilted up to connect their lips. In that instant all thought fled Dawn's mind. How did she breath again? Despite being positive she forgot how to do the simple action of breathing, she found herself automatically kissing him back with a face growing even brighter by the second.

Neither even noticed noticed the dark shadow off to the side of the room. That is, until it glided silently over to them and proceeded to lift Dawn, not only away from Kid but up off the ground and over it's shoulder. Being separated unexpectedly caused both teen's eyes to snap open. The next word she heard, though hoarse and barely above a whisper, stunned her s much as the proclamation sounded.

"F-Father!?"

Lord Death. The Lord Death of all people was the one to find her and Kid kissing!? Dawn just felt like crawling away to a corner somewhere to hide. Death leaned forward, wagging the index finger of his free hand at his son.

"Now now Kiddo, I thought I raised you to be a gentleman. Gentlemen don't turn the first kiss into a make-out session."

The simple joking sounding reprimand had Kid's previously light pink cheeks turning a blazing red to rival Dawn's.

"Now I need to speak with your 'girlfriend' here-"

Maybe it was only because she had just remembered it, but Dawn could have sworn he was referencing their tour of the town based on his tone.

"-and you need your rest. You may be awake but you're still in no condition to be up and about."

Turning, he walked out of the room with Dawn still over his shoulder. The pair got many odd looks from everyone they passed in the halls and he didn't set her back on the ground until they made it to the death room. The second he turned his back to her she sensed something was off. The entire atmosphere in the room shifted and she felt a prickling sensation crawl across her skin. Dawn knew right away by how it seemed to come from an outside source at all angles that it had to be coming from Lord Death's soul.

"Lord Death?" Dawn spoke up, using his title as a result of her nervousness. "Is something wrong?"

Another moment of tense silence passed by the time she received something akin to an answer.

"You disobeyed orders from your superior, Azusa… you irrationally endangered your life and possibly the lives of your fellow students… you further endangered your own life by trying something as impossible as forcing your dormant weapon blood to activate itself… and you not only took off, but lost the only thing hiding your soul."

Her fingers brushed subconsciously over her neck where the choker had been days earlier.

A split second later she found herself crumbled on the ground with a shattering pain echoing through her head. Dawn didn't need to lookup to know Lord Death's extended hand was hovering above her, where it had connected with her skull.

"Don't ever do that again."

"I wasn't planning to." She whimpered.

Dawn had been expecting Death to perk back up afterwards but instead she continued to feel the cool, prickling breeze across her skin radiating from his soul. It was beginning to make her tense as she awaited for something to change.

"You know..." he began coldly. "Something so reckless is punishable by expulsion."

Her world stopped. Expulsion?

* * *

><p>Lord Death had said nothing else afterwards expect for telling Dawn she could move back in with Justin and to wait for his decision on the matter. As much as she enjoyed spending time with Maka and Soul, Dawn was ecstatic to hear she could return to a semi-normal schedule with her brother before he was inevitably shipped back to the European branch. A death scythe's responsibilities never ended after all. Opening the door to the small building, she poked her head in cautiously.<p>

"Hello? Justin?"

Getting no answer, she walked further in. As she rounded the corner into the main room she collided face first into the dark fabric of the death scythe's robes. Justin blinked owlishly down at his sister, stunned to see her so suddenly. Dawn launched herself at him with such force he was sent stumbling back. Chuckling, he was more than glad to return the hug.

She pulled away, yanking his earphones out as she went.

"Hey!"

"Dawn rolled her eyes at his protests and despite his displeasure he didn't move to put them back in… right away.

"So where were you off to?"

"Oh I was just going to go help out with the reconstruction effort today again. I've been helping everyday."

"Well then I'll come and help." Dawn ran off to change, grabbing some of the old clothes from her room she didn't bother to pack when she moved her things to Maka and Soul's. "Don't you dare leave without me!"

"But shouldn't you be resting?"

"I just woke up so I'm really not tired at all. I managed to actually sleep well last night too." She called back to him.

"Okay then in that case if you still aren't tired by the time we get back tonight I'll bring out the stereo system and we'll blast it."

"Yes!" she yelled happily. "By the way have I missed anything since we last talked? Cause it's been awhile with all the missions you were being sent on-"

Dawn walked out to see Justin's back to her.

"Justin? Are you even paying attention?"

Then she saw it…

The cord to his earphones.

"Damn it Justin let's just go." She grumbled, grabbing the hem of his sleeve as she walked by. At least it was nice while it lasted.

When they got to the nearest site where people were working to rebuild the city a worker came up to Dawn before she had the chance to do anything.

"Dawn Law?"

"Yes?"

"You are not permitted to be here. Sorry miss, Lord Death's direct instructions." He ushered her off to the sidelines of the work-zone, and straight to a disgruntled looking Maka's side.

After a lengthy discussion, Dawn found out that Maka had come to help but was turned back as well. Lord Death had made sure everyone knew about the orders that none of the students who had fought the kishin were to partake in any strenuous activities for at least another week. Her mind kept wandering to her apparent change of relations with both members of the reaper family and her possible expulsion but she forced herself to think about happier topics, knowing there was nothing she could do at the moment.

**Author's Note:**** Finally! I really hope you guys like it. We are coming to a close on this story soon but fear not! I've been refining the plot points for 'Love is Insanity' as I'm praying I'll be able to make it better than this one. (I'm really disappointed in myself on this one… I don't like it. :/ )**

**ANYWAY, I really need to know what you guys think of this chapter or more specifically the fluff. It's my first real attempt at legitimate fluff. I'm so much more comfortable writing angsty scenes, weirdly enough. Speaking of angsty I've put up some Transformers drabbles on here too that I wrote as well as this in my time since the last update so if you're a Trans-fan go read those, it'd be much appreciated.**

**`Vi**


	29. 27: Always Reason For A Party

_**The DSM**_

**Chapter 27:**** Always Reason For A Party**

The next day Maka and Soul helped Dawn and Justin move her things. Justin took care of all the bigger boxes per Lord Death's continuous insistence on the young teens avoiding anything strenuous.

"I don't get why he's being so persistant."

Dawn was organizing her music collection into the CD rack hanging on her bedroom wall.

"He probably just wants to make sure we don't aggravate any of our wounds until they're completely healed." Maka tried to ease Dawn's annoyance.

"Yeah." Soul chimed in, bringing in a small box. "I bet the nutty professor had more to do with it and Lord Death is just the enforcing authority."

Dawn finished with the CDs then took the box from Soul.

"I suppose you may have a point there."

"Of course I do." He grinned.

"Ok Einstein let's leave the girl to finish up." Maka rolled her eyes as she grabbed Soul's hand and dragged him out with a quick wave goodbye to Dawn.

"Oh and Dawn." She poked her head back around the doorframe. "Don't forget that the party is on Saturday."

"What party?"

"Lord Death is throwing a celebratory party for the destruction of the kishin. … Go figure eh?"

This wasn't much of a surprise to Dawn, Lord Death did have a thing for throwing parties with any excuse he could get. Though one thing did concern her, since her future with or without the DWMA is still being debated would she be allowed to attend? Her worries were disregarded when she saw the expectant look on her friend's face.

"I'll be there then."

"Great!" Maka seemed genuinely happy that she would be attending. "Tsubaki, Liz, Patty and I are all going dress shopping tomorrow we'll come get you around 8 in the morning 'kay?"

Laughing at her enthusiasm Dawn nodded. "Sure thing Maka."

* * *

><p>"Good morning!" Justin sang happily, and quite loudly per usual, as her burst into Dawn's room.<p>

She groaned, burying herself further down into the comforting warmth of her bedsheets.

"Five more minutes."

"But dear sister…" he drawled with a tone far too innocent sounding to be anything but the opposite. "Your friends will be here in five minutes."

"What?!" she shot up in her bed and threw the covers off turning to her clock to verify that it was indeed 7:55 am.

"Why didn't you wake me earlier?"

"I tried ten minutes ago, and then ten minutes before that, and ten minutes before that…"

Dawn gaped as he continued.

"I've been trying to get you up every ten minutes since six o' clock and every time I came in you said you were getting up."

…

"AND YOU BELIEVED ME!?"

"Of course not. You just need to learn to get up on your own."

She groaned yet again, standing and shuffling her way towards the door.

"Justin why do you always have to do things this way?"

"AH!" he cried indignantly. "How dare you speak in such a manner! A lady should never use such language!"

They continued bickering as Dawn attempted to shove her brother out of her room.

"What are you even talking about?"

"You should never resort to cursing!"

"I said nothing bad! You're reading lips wrong again!"

"Huh?"

"I need to change! Get out!"

With a final shove, Justin stumbled backwards followed by a loud 'SLAM' as Dawn shut her door hastily so he had no chance of running back in. It was clear he had no idea what was going on and the last thing she wanted was him in her room when she needed to change.

"Dawn! You best be getting ready in there!"

"Of course I am, that's why I pushed you out." She muttered to herself as he wouldn't hear her anyway.

Getting ready in record time, Dawn was waiting in the front entrance with seconds to spare. When 8 o' clock came and went it became apparent that they were running late. To top it all off Dawn was never a morning person and was relatively touchy if woken up by some outside source. Witch in today's case had been Justin dancing into her room and annoying her with his good morning attitude.

"I hurried to get ready and everything and they're not even here on time!"

*knock, knock, knock*

"Figures, the second I mentioned anything about them being late and they finally show up."

Opening the door she found an embarrassed Maka, a smiling Tsubaki, Patty being… well Patty, and Liz lazily making her way up the walkway.

"Hehe… sorry about being a little late."

Even with her bad morning attitude and general annoyance about the way her day was starting, Dawn was never able to stay upset with her friends.

"Don't worry about it. You're here now aren't you?"

"Yay! Now let's go!"

"One minute Patty, just let me do one last thing."

Dawn turned around to grab a sticky note pad and pen. She wrote a quick note for Justin and stuck it on the inside of the door as yelling out a goodbye as she left would be absolutely pointless.

"Okay, now let's do this."

* * *

><p>Hours later all of the girls sat in the death city café, dress bags hanging off the back of their chairs as they watched the civilians on the street.<p>

"It's amazing how quick everyone has gone back to their everyday lives." Tsubaki commented with her usual sweet smile.

"Tch, none of them almost died."

"Liz, the entire world almost ended." Maka pointed out in response.

The weapon just crossed her arms and shrugged it off. Meanwhile her sister took the opportunity to speak in the silence.

"Yeah, if it wasn't for you and Dawn, Maka, we'd all be goners."

"N-Now I don't know about t-that!"

Maka waved her hands furiously in front of herself trying to distract the others from the embarrassed blush quickly covering her face.

"I mean, you all did a lot of great work too! We really all deserve the same amount of credit." She laughed nervously.

Glancing to her left, Liz caught sight of Dawn as she stared blankly out at the street.

"Dawn? Are you okay?"

Needless to say, this shifted everyone's attention to the blonde meister. Maka was infinitely glad for the change in topic but was equally concerned as to what was troubling her friend.

"Huh?"

Despite turning to look at the others her face maintained it's blank stare which only served to add to their concern. Something was obviously wrong.

"I asked if you were okay." Liz repeated. "My guess is you're not."

"Oh." Her eyes drifted back to the window before she was able to answer. "I've just got a lot to think about right now. I've been so busy since the fight that I've been able to avoid facing these problems but now that I've had a chance to relax I guess they all took my focus, sorry."

Tsubaki reached over the table and laid her hand on top of Dawn's in a comforting gesture.

"You know we're all here for each other in more than just battles. You can tell us what's wrong."

Turning back around, some of the worry in her eyes lifted seeing the faces of her friends ready and willing to help her.

"Well…" she sighed. "You see this is what happened."

Dawn recounted her conversation with Lord Death mainly the part involving her possible expulsion. Despite the fact her mind was torturing her with questions over what exactly had occurred between her and Kid along with what it meant she didn't dare tell them. All the other girls could do after she explained was stare, shocked. Patty was by her side in seconds, grabbing at Dawn's arm with tears in her eyes.

"B-But if you're gone then who will be there on missions to stop Kid from breaking down because of his symmetry obsession?!" she wailed.

"You'll just have to deal with it however you did before I came to the academy."

"So, we don't" Liz drawled.

A chuckle escaped Dawn and she shook her head a little. "I'm sure you will be fine."

The girls all decided to change the subject to something lighter for the time being. Later on they said goodbye and went their separate ways towards their respective homes.

* * *

><p>Saturday came and Dawn stepped out of her room ready for the party.<p>

"I know it's formal attire but isn't this a little much?"

Dawn fiddled with the hem of her dress, gazing at herself critically in the hallway mirror. The smooth light blue fabric held tightly to her torso but fell loose below the black silk belt around her waist that tied into a small bow on her back. It went down just below her knees and the top had two simple straps that fell off her shoulders. Her hair was held up in the back, curled locks falling down past her shoulders and two stray pieces framing her face, one on each side.

"You look so cute!" Justin gushed, strangling her in a hug.

"Gah! J-Justin! C-Can't… breathe…"

"Hehe… Sorry." He grinned sheepishly, letting her go.

"That's ok." She observed herself one more time in the mirror. "It feels kind of weird not having my arm sleeves on..."

While she was absent-mindedly rubbing her bar arms, Justin slipped his suit jacket on and adjusted his tie. The two began heading out of the door and he turned to Dawn.

"You really do look wonderful."

"And you're looking pretty handsome there yourself." Dawn nudged him playfully.

They both shared a laugh as they left the house. Stepping off the porch first Justin held his arm out to his sister.

"Miss."

"Sir." She nodded, taking the extended arm.

The two laughed again, heading towards the academy.

Arriving at the academy, they had only taken a few steps in when a high ranking meister jogged up to the pair. He had messy green hair falling in front of his eyes, it's wild look contrasting his neat grey suit.

"Justin and Dawn Law?"

"Yes."

"The death scythes are gathering behind the stage to make an appearance sir. And Lord Death wished to see you miss."

"Thanks Ren." Justin smiled and the young man left just as quickly as he came.

"You know him?"

Justin nodded, leading them down the hall towards the room the party was being held in.

"He's a very skilled meister. Did a lot of work in the European branch awhile back and I even accompanied him on a mission once."

"Cool, he must be really awesome then if he's good enough to keep pace with you."

"Sometimes I think you give me a little too much credit."

"And I think you're too modest about your abilities."

They parted ways once they reached the room, Justin heading to meet up with the other death scythes and Dawn continued down the hall towards the death room where she assumed Lord Death would still be. He usually waited until the last minute to show up anyway. Her palms began to sweat the closer she got to the room. Heartbeat quickening, she raised a fist to the large door to the death room however before she could knock Lord Death's voice called out.

"Come in Dawn."

His tone was hard to read, only adding to Dawn's worry. There was only one reason she could think of why she had been called to see him… he had finally decided on a verdict. She grabbed the knob and pushed the door, dreading the meeting to come.

Dawn was about to find out if she had a future with the academy or not.

**Author's Note:**** Thought there was going to be more DawnxKid fluff? Sorry but only Dawn and Justin sibling fluffies in this one dear readers.**

**I GOT A LAPTOP FOR CHRISTMAS!**

**This will cut the work I need to do to create a chapter in half and give me more opportunities to work on it. This will fix the majority of the delays in my work. Any life related problems can't be helped.**

**NEXT CHAPTER: Will Dawn get expelled? Where has Kid been these last few days? What will happen between our dear young meisters? And most importantly, will Ren be making another appearance? **

**Find out next time!**

**-Vi **


	30. 28: Everything Changes

_**The DSM?**_

**Chapter 28:**** Everything Changes**

Walking silently down the hallway, Dawn's apprehension grew with each step. Would this mark her final day in the academy? Would she be sent home? Never to see all the friends she made ever again? Questions like these tormented her mind as she came ever closer to the raised platform on which Death stood. Finally exiting the hall after what felt like an eternity of endless scenarios playing through her head she found, much to her surprise, that she was not the only one here to see the grim reaper.

"Oh hello Dawn! You're finally here!"

His normal cheery voice only added to her confusion.

"Uh…"

"I suppose you must be pretty confused hmm? Allow me to explain. You see, even if you did severely endanger yourself and your teammates, it has come to my understanding that what you did played a key role in our victory over the kishin and thus, the saving of the world from madness. And I have also come to the conclusion that in a battle with the whole world at stake it is better to be willing to sacrifice oneself in the chance of winning for if the battle were to be lost, the lives of many more would be taken. So…" Lord Death practically giggled, shocking the poor girl even more. "In light of those facts, I have decided not to expel you!"

"R-really?"

"Mhmm." He bounced up and down slightly as he nodded.

She was stunned, not sure what to do for a moment. As such she stood in silence for about a minute which started to concern the young boy next to her.

"Um… sir?"

"Just give her a minute."

"Thank you Death!" she eventually squealed, having to hold herself back from jumping forward and hugging him.

He chuckled and waved it off.

"You're very welcome. Now there's someone here I would like you to meet." He gestured over to the boy. "Dawn, this is Levi Murray."

She looked him over, something about him was very familiar. He shuffled awkwardly under her gaze as she tried to figure out where she had seen him from. His small frame was engulfed by his baggy white hooded sweatshirt with red accents on the front pocket and emblems on each shoulder. Combined with his dark blue jeans and the black mask pulled up over the lower portion of his face not much of him could be seen save for his wide green eyes peeking out from wisps of his short brown hair.

Finally, something clicked in Dawn's mind.

"I know now! You're the kid Blackstar was screaming at the day Kid took me on a tour of the academy, and you were the one that brought his meister in the infirmary the day before the battle against Asura."

Levi stiffened but nodded his confirmation.

"Well it's nice to officially meet you Levi."

She extended a hand which he hesitantly took in his own and shook.

"You as well Dawn. I've heard some good things about you." He tilted his head towards Lord Death.

"Oh have you now?" she raised a brow at the reaper.

Death only chuckled at her inquisitive look.

"You see, there's a rather specific reason why I brought Levi here to meet you."

"And that would be…?"

* * *

><p>After giving them the run-down on what was to come, Lord Death sent Dawn off to attend the dance and Levi to change before going to the dance as well with 'strict' instructions to go and attempt to have fun as well. Entering the ballroom, Dawn surveyed the large crowd to try and find a familiar face and resorted to wandering when she found none. She had still yet to find anyone by the time the ceremonies started. Lord Death appeared and gave his usual two-sentence speech causing everything to proceed rather quickly and everyone got back to dancing and socializing.<p>

Finally she saw Justin return to the crowd and make his way over to her.

"May I have this dance miss?" he bowed politely causing her to laugh and nod.

"Of course sir."

They were only dancing for a short minute before there was a tap on Justin's shoulder. He turned around, allowing Dawn to see who was behind him.

"K-kid?!"

"May I?" he asked Justin.

The death scythe smirked, "But of course."

Sending Dawn into a small spin, they switched dance partners effortlessly and by the time she finished the quick spin she was dancing with Kid. Trying to ignore the blush spreading across her cheeks she distracted herself by starting a conversation with him.

"So does this mean you've recovered?"

"More or less. Enough to be up and about at least, I don't think I could stand another day in that infirmary bed."

"Have you seriously been stuck there this whole time?"

"Well I've been in the academy this whole time but I spent these last few days doing minor exercises and such to get my coordination back."

They continued to make small talk for the rest of the song and Dawn was beginning to think that he might have forgot about what had happened between them the day he woke up. After all he was barely awake and was recovering from so much blood loss that it was quite possible he had no memory of the entire day. The fact that they were now moving towards the balcony was lost on her as she was deep in her concerned thoughts.

"Dawn?"

"Yeah?" It was now she finally realized where they were and wondered why he had led them out here.

"Listen… about when I woke up…"

So he did remember. Nervousness crept through her until she saw that he was just as nervous, fidgeting and no longer looking her in the eyes.

"I apologize if I made things awkward for you. I wasn't really thinking straight."

She felt her heart stop for a moment. And not in a good way. Despite wanting to run away from the situation, fearing where it was heading, her body refused to move.

"I guess what I'm trying to get around to saying is my body reacted on it's own in my hazy state but it didn't do so without reason."

He finally turned to look at her while she still tried to process what he meant.

"I mean to say… I…"

Kid sighed, exasperated at himself for being unable to simply speak a few words. A light pink spread on to his cheeks and it was so light that Dawn almost thought she was seeing this. The Death the Kid was blushing!? The very thought seemed impossible.

"Damn it." He hissed under his breath and took and deep breath to calm himself.

It seemed to work as his face regained it's usual confident look when he gazed back at her. This time it was Dawn's turn to blush.

"Here goes nothing... I really, **really** like you Dawn. That's why I was compelled to do what I did. You're kind, smart, funny and beautiful. You don't look down on me or call me a freak because of my OCD, you actually help me suppress it and ever since you came back into my life you've made me a million times happier than I ever was."

Dawn's eyes were wide and her heart was beating so fast she feared it would give out. Was this really happening? To her, this came out of nowhere, she had never imagined he would feel the same for her and she could hardly believe what she was hearing.

"K-Kid…"

"And I know you probably don't feel the same…"

"Kid-"

"but I think you should at least know after I..."

"Kid!"

Still, he rambled on nervously until Dawn stepped forward and wrapped him in a hug.

"I care about you a lot too Kid."

She felt him relax at that and return the hug. The start of another song drifted in from the main room so Kid stepped back and bowed slightly. He smiled up at Dawn, causing her to blush more.

"May I have this dance?"

"Of course." She smiled, taking his outstretched hand.

**Author's Note:**** See! I updated quicker! X) I know this chapter was shorter but I wanted to end it here. So let me know what you think. Happy they finally admitted things? Wondering about Levi? Ask, comment, scream "FINALLY!" if you want.**

**Personally I'm very happy to finally formally introduce my little Levi. He is so adorable :3 **

**Dawn: I think I've been replaced… TT_TT**


	31. 29: A New Normal

_**The DSM?**_

**Warning, scenes in the chapter may make you feel inclined to love Levi... I fully endorse doing so x3**

**Kei too, they're my darlings. *hugs Levi and Kei***

**Dawn: I feel like I'm being replaced.**

***whistles innocently* Oh! Look the chapter's starting! Hehe…**

**Dawn: *watches suspiciously* **

**Chapter 29:**** The New Normal**

Tomorrow would be the first day of classes starting up again at the academy and Dawn was going to make sure she spent her last day off in the best way possible. That wasn't to say that she was dreading going back. Quite the opposite actually after what had happened at last night's party. And no it didn't have to do with the fact that her and Kid were now officially going out, though that was the main reason she left in such a good mood.

Last night, just before everyone left Lord Death made an appearance where he called Blackstar, Tsubaki, Maka, Soul, Kid, Patty, Liz and Dawn up to join him on the stage. It was then he made the announcement that for the combined effort of defeating the kishin Asura, all four meisters were promoted to the two-star rank and would be transferred to class half moon with their weapons.

Dawn was excited to begin her classes as a two-star ranked meister but for now, she was on her way to meet up with everyone at the park. Rounding the corner at a jog, she noticed everyone was already standing around and catching up. Except for one…

"Dawn!"

She whirled around to see Blackstar standing on the fence that surrounds the park, hands on his hips.

"About time you got here!"

"What…" she was dumbfounded. "What are you doing on the fence?"

Completely ignoring her question he jumped down and sauntered over to her, confident as always.

"You and I have some unfinished business."

"And that would be…?"

"Our fight." He smirked, connecting his fist with his other open hand. "You, me, no weapons, unrestricted hand to hand combat, wavelengths included."

The confused expression faded from her face and she quickly mirrored his expression.

"If I can hold my own against you for at least a little bit then I'll know I've improved. You're on."

And right like that, the two were exchanging blows, maneuvering all around the park. The rest of their friends stood by dumbfounded.

"Is someone going to stop them…?"

"Why bother. They'll just find another time to duke it out."

"Yeah and Blackstar would just be moody if it was delayed."

At that they all laughed and stood by, waiting for the two to finish.

* * *

><p>Levi strolled down the street, having just gone out shopping for food to restock the pantry in his apartment. As he neared the area where the city park was, he saw the form of a young child peering around the entrance gate post looking into the park. Getting closer, he saw it was a lone young boy who could be no older than 6 years of age.<p>

"Hello."

The boy blinked, surprised as he obviously had not heard Levi walk up to him and turned to face him.

"Excuse me but where are your parents?" Levi looked around for an adult but none could be found.

"Well you see sir… I don't have any anymore."

To say this took Levi by surprise would be an understatement. He had grown up in the city and the homeless were a rare thing in death city. Mainly because many of the residents were academy students provided with an apartment in one of the many buildings dedicated to student housing. Even so, Lord Death usually made sure the average citizens were provided with some form of housing. So how was it this young boy was without both a house and someone to watch over him in a city such as this?

"How long have you been on your own?"

"I don't know anymore." The boy said sadly, looking at the ground.

"You must be hungry huh? Here, have this."

Levi set his bags down on a nearby bench and pulled out an apple, handing it to the child who gladly accepted it. He immediately bit into it, eating as fast as he possibly could.

"Whoa there buddy." Levi laughed, sitting down on the bench and offering him a spot as well. "Calm down, it's not going to disappear on you."

It nearly broke Levi's heart when the child looked up, a confused look on his face.

"Really? But nothing ever stays with me…"

Silence enveloped the two save for the quiet noise made by the child eating. Though much slower this time. The stiff silence continued for a few moments even after the boy had finished the apple and yet, he seemed to understand what was going through Levi's head.

"You want to know why I'm here don't you?"

Turning, Levi saw the traces of a sad smile appear on the boy's face.

"It used to be me and my mom like this. I don't remember ever having a home, and she never told me how we ended up on the streets, why everyone else had a safe place to sleep and enough food to eat. All she ever told me was to be thankful for what I had, even if it was next to nothing."

The strong, mature demeanor the child had started out with began to crack. Soon it was falling away rapidly as tears pricked at his eyes and quickly evolved into sobs wracking his small frame. Barely able to speak, he continued the best he could even though his sobbed gasps for breath interrupted him.

"B-but a while ago, she started to get really weak… and eventually one day she just…"

As he burst into tears Levi was quick to react, bringing the child into a hug and rubbing his back soothingly. It was a few moments before he was calmed down enough to speak again.

"What's your name?"

"Kei." the boy mumbled between his sniffles as he wiped the tears from his eyes.

"Well Kei, how about you come with me? I'll see what I can do for you okay?"

Kei looked up a Levi, a shocked expression covering his face and though Levi's mouth could not be seen the wrinkles around the edges of his bright green eyes were evidence enough that he was smiling at him. Grinning back, Kei nodded excitedly. However the moment between them was interrupted by a flash of sparking purple and blue light and a figure smashing into the wall of a store only a few feet away from them.

"…Dawn?"

The young girl lifted her head from where she lay slumped against the store wall.

"Huh? … Oh Levi. 'Sup partner?" she drawled in a southern accent before falling unconscious.

"Uh…" Levi looked from her back to the park she had flown out of and back down to her.

Kei got up, Levi following and the two walked over to see if she was okay.

"Who's this?" Kei nudged her to see if she'd wake up, frowning when it didn't work.

"A friend… I think."

"Let's get you home." A voice sighed.

Startled, both Levi and Kei jumped away to see a suit-clad black haired teen lean down and pick the blonde up. Neither had even heard him coming, let alone saw him come to a stop beside them for a moment before speaking.

"Um… excuse me?" Levi spoke nervously, resulting in the boy turning his way. "W-who are you?"

"Death the Kid, and you are?"

It took Levi a moment to respond, stunned at figuring out just who he was talking to.

"Levi Murray."

"Ah yes. My father told me about you, nice to meet you Levi. I'd stay and chat but I've got to take Dawn here back to her house. Perhaps I'll see you around school."

Just like that he left as suddenly as he'd come.

"I wonder what happened."

* * *

><p>"Here we are."<p>

Levi led Kei into his student dorm near the DWMA.

"You can stay here with me for the time being. It's a little late today but after I get back from school tomorrow we'll go out and get and get you some good clothes okay?"

Turning around Levi saw Kei stood still just inside the entryway.

"Is something wrong?"

"How come you're being so nice to me? I don't understand…"

Levi walked back over to him, knelt down and for the second time that day wrapped the boy in a comforting hug.

"Because the one thing no one should ever have to be is alone."

"Thank you."

It was all Kei could say as he returned the hug, burying his face in Levi's shoulder and gripping the back of his sweater. He had found his new family and he never wanted to let go.

* * *

><p>The next day Levi had to assure the child that he was coming back after classes. It seemed it was going to take a while for him to realize he wouldn't be left on his own again. After promising Kei of his return, Levi rushed towards the academy, praying he wouldn't be late. Dawn on the other hand had woken up quite early out of a mixture of excitement and having gotten plenty of "sleep" the previous day from being knocked out. She made it to class early and was now sitting up in the back rows of class half-moon with the rest of her recently promoted friends.<p>

"I wonder who the teacher is for this class?"

"If I recall correctly he's a new staff member. Mr. Haya-something or other." Kid spoke up from her left.

Before she could respond a small, frail looking boy with brown hair raced into the class, clutching his books to his chest.

"Thank goodness I'm not late."

Levi gasped for air, trying to regain his breath after having sprinted the entire way with only a minute before class to spare.

"There he is." Dawn smiled.

Then she stood, waving her arms.

"Hey Levi! Over here, I saved you seat!" She pointed at the empty spot on her right.

"So that's who she saved the seat for?" Soul mumbled from the row above. "Some new kid?"

"If he was new he wouldn't be in an advanced class, idiot." Maka chided her partner.

The two bickered back and forth for a few moments but it ended as it always did, with Soul taking a Maka-Chop to the head.

"Why do you keep doing that?" he groaned, clutching his sore skull.

"I'll stop when you start listening." Maka huffed.

Levi walked up to the area the group was seated in and sat down in the empty spot by Dawn. Everyone turned to look at him, causing him to blush in embarrassment and wave shyly.

"H-hi… I'm Levi."

"He's my weapon partner!" Dawn giggled, smiling wide.

There were a few shocked sputters from her friends but Tsubaki was the first to speak calmly.

"So you finally got a partner that's great." She smiled. "It's nice to meet you Levi, I'm Tsubaki and this is my meister Blackstar."

"What kind of weapon are you?"

The sudden question came from said teen as he leaned in towards Levi.

"Uh…"

"Blackstar! Give him some space, he's not a people person. He's too shy for you to be up in his face like that!"

Dawn tried pushing him away, only resulting in him getting even more riled up.

"You want to go another round DSM? Huh?"

"Don't call me that!"

This time, it was Dawn and Blackstar that filled the class up with noisy bickering. He tried endlessly to provoke her and she tried to calm him down. Unable to hold it back Levi smiled, at least it seemed he would never be bored around this bunch. They seemed like nice enough people too, perhaps things would be better than he thought. He was content to sit back and watch the antics of his new meister and her friends, or at least he was. They all received a shock however when two simple ballpoint pens flew mere centimeters away from Dawn and Blackstar's heads with enough velocity to become lodged into the wall behind them.

"Sit down and behave yourselves. Class is starting and I do not tolerate disturbances."

"Y-yes sir!" Both sat immediately.

"My name is Ren Hayashi, but you will all refer to me as Mr. Hayashi is that understood?"

While the class quickly responded with an affirmative, Dawn took a good look at him and sure enough, he was definitely the same man she met briefly at the dance. Wild, all over the place green hair covering his eyes and oddly contrasting formal clothing. Today though he was wearing a simple pair of black dress pants, a white button up shirt with a black vest and a bowtie.

"Great. Now as long as we don't have any further disturbances we should get along just fine." He smiled, his voice much less intimidating than earlier.

The day dragged on and as it came to a close, Dawn and Levi both had the same thoughts going through their heads. Maybe, their lives were truly on paths to become better from here on out.

**Author's Note:**** So yeah, I brought in another character but I promise Kei is the last edition to the cast here. On a personal note, I've been going through the exam period, hence the time delay. I still have another for Monday but I can't study for that. I can also now legally drive by myself so yay! :P My life is just really busy as of late.**

**I've also recently finished Death Note and Durarara. They are amazing series and I highly recommend them! Death Note has the most intense intellectual plot ever and Durarara has a fantastic set of unique characters each with their own inspiring back story. Well most of them at least… I'm pretty sure Izaya's just genetically insane. (He is my favourite… along with Shizu-chan ;3)**

**Finally, if you've read through my pointless rambling, congratulations cause you've made it to the important part. This story is almost over and I can't believe it. The next update will probably just be an epilogue to wrap it up. No worries if you're really into this though because I do have a sequel planned which I hope will be a lot better than this. (I'm really not proud of this, the plot's pretty poor in my opinion.) Besides, I could hardly introduce three new characters and then just end it. These guys play important parts in the sequel so I thought it best to bring them in now and just go more in depth with them later. **

**Thanks for the support! I am grateful to all my wonderful readers! *hugs you all***

**~Vi**


	32. Epilogue

**The DSM**

**Epilogue**

_ **As this is the final instalment of the DSM I just want to take this chance to thank all my readers. Especially those who have been with me since chapter 1 and my wonderful friends who have provided me with ideas. Though whether you've been a long time reader or just started after this has been marked as completed, the simple act of reading my story gives me support in my writing.**_

As time went on, everyone slowly became more and more accustomed to the pattern their new lives had settled into. Ren taught them well, in his own rather... unique way, Dawn and Levi developed a close partnership and Levi formed an even stronger bond with Kei who had taken up permanent residence with the weapon. Everyone was experiencing changes for the better.

"What's up everyone!"

Blackstar crashed through the front door of Maka and Soul's apartment, where they had all agreed to meet. This earned him more than his fair share of angry or annoyed looks. Immediately, he sat over by Soul animatedly recounting his latest adventure. Tsubaki followed in his aftermath smiling kindly per usual.

"Jeez, what took you too so long? You're late." Liz grumbled.

"Sorry, we just came back from a mission."

Tsubaki sat down gently by Maka, continually smiling all the while. Everyone in the room exchanged reluctant looks, hesitant to ask how it went. Neither Liz nor Patty were jumping to pry, Soul was busy talking with Blackstar, and Levi seemed content to sit and watch quietly. Kei had fallen asleep with his head resting on Levi's shoulder. That only left Maka.

"So... how did it go?"

Tsubaki's smile grew into a satisfied grin.

"Very well. We collected the necessary souls without any problems."

...

"Are you serious?"

She laughed, "Yes. I was pleasantly surprised."

"That's great you guys!"

"Yeah, way to go!"

The door to the apartment swung open for the second time, though two who came in were much more calm than the first.

"Hey everyone, sorry we're late."

"No problem Dawn, Kid."

Maka nodded to the couple as they sat down across from Levi and Kei. Finally everyone in the group was present and accounted for. They sat talking for hours before eventually deciding to head home for the night. Kid had insisted on walking Dawn home as she otherwise would have had to walk the streets on her own. Standing at the door she felt as if time slowed around them when suddenly time snapped back into full speed as Kid pulled her in for a kiss. Her head spun and the dizzy feeling lingered even after he pulled away.

"I'll see you tomorrow?"

She could only nod and mumble a quiet, "See ya tomorrow."

The door shutting her in her home only served as physical closure between her and the scene. Her mind however could not avoid reliving it. She was already looking forward to tomorrow.

Her life had finally took a turn for the better and Dawn intended to keep it that way.

**Author's Note:** **So what do you think? Have anything you'd like to see in the sequel? I'd like to say thanks to my readers and I hope to hear from you cause you are my only source of inspiration lately. Now enjoy this glimpse into the future.**

* * *

><p><span><em><strong>Love is Insanity<strong>_

_Sometimes we defeat our fears, the monsters inside of us... though they never truly dissapear._

"Asura." A dark figure scoffed, morphing its way through the shadows. "Asura was playing at being a kishin. He hadn't even the knowledge to grasp what a true kishin is."

_Warnings of kishin state the world will fall into complete dissolution, turning friends and family against each other._

A shrill scream pierced through the echoing sounds of battle. Seconds later the same girl tackled her nearby partner, weapon poised to attack.

"K-Kim! What are you doing!?"

_The true power of a kishin is not to simply drive others insane..._

"The wavelength's increasing! Call the squadrons back immediately!" Sid yelled from his post.

"We've lost all communications with the field teams sir!"

_...it is to expose one's fears, and exploit them._

Visions flew through her mind, of being shunned and of the ones she cares for most being killed. With no way for her to save them.

"Stop it!" she grasped desperately at her head, falling to the ground. "Leave me alone!"

_It will use your fear to control you. And finally, when it has you in it's clutches..._

"Get back to the city!"

Fleeing meisters and weapons were herded back towards the city edge, passing back into the safety of Lord Death's range. The hoard of maddened souls crept ever closer to the safe haven, grinning cruelly all the while. At the point of the massive group, leading them straight for the city was a familiar face.

"No... it can't be..."

**-Dramatic End!- **

**(UPDATE: SEQUEL HAS BEEN POSTED! ENJOY)**

_**`Vi**_


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